No one can be ODI captain except for Babar Azam: Aqib Javed

Former cricketer, Aqib Javed, believes that Babar Azam is the only suitable candidate for the ODI captaincy, and that any other choice would be a mistake ahead of the upcoming 2023 World Cup.

While talking to a local media channel, the former pacer said that there should be no speculation at this point around ODI captaincy.

"The entire conversation regarding Babar Azam's captaincy was wrong in the first place. No one can be the ODI captain except for Babar Azam," Javed said.

Javed pointed out that in the recent T20I series against Afghanistan; having another captain other than Babar Azam had resulted in poor performance. Shadab Khan led the Men in Green in the aforementioned series, while seniors players including Babar were given rest.

"Why are you even naming anyone other than Babar. Why do you want to make anyone captain other than him?" he asked.

However, Javed does believe that Pakistan's pace spearhead, Shaheen Shah Afridi, should be given the opportunity to lead the team in the T20 World Cup 2024.

"When you say teams should be formed on [the basis of] PSL performance, the captain [Shaheen] that claims the trophy back to back in two years of PSL, so that should also be kept in view," he said.