Babar Azam and Tim Southee Resign as Captains: A Sudden Shift in Leadership
In a surprising turn of events, both Pakistan’s Babar Azam and New Zealand’s Tim Southee have announced their resignation as captains late at night. The timing of their departures and the reason behind them—poor performances—has raised significant discussion in the cricketing world.
Tim Southee Steps Down After New Zealand’s Defeat
Following New Zealand’s heavy innings defeat against Sri Lanka, Tim Southee announced his decision to step down as Test captain. Reflecting on his role, Southee stated, “It was a great honor to lead the Blackcaps. I gave it my all, but I feel now is the right time to step aside.” In his tenure as captain, Southee led New Zealand in 14 Test matches, securing 6 wins, 6 losses, and 2 draws.
The New Zealand cricket team is scheduled to tour India this month, with Tom Latham set to take over the leadership role for the series.
Babar Azam Resigns to Focus on Batting
Almost simultaneously, Pakistan’s star cricketer Babar Azam resigned from his captaincy roles in the ODI and T20I formats. Babar, citing the heavy workload, expressed his desire to focus more on his batting. His resignation follows growing pressure after Pakistan’s underwhelming performance in the 2023 T20 World Cup, with cricket legend Zaheer Abbas even calling for his removal from the team.
Although Babar had stepped down as the captain of all three formats earlier after Pakistan’s poor ODI World Cup campaign, he was later reinstated as captain in the white-ball formats. His decision to step down, however, reflects the growing demands and pressures of leading a team at the international level.
