Babar Azam never focused on building bench strength due to personal preferences: Umar Akmal

Karachi: Discarded Test batsman Umar Akmal has placed the blame for the current state of the Pakistan cricket team squarely on Babar Azam's shoulders, saying the former captain failed to build bench strength during his nearly five-year tenure at the helm.

Defending champions Pakistan, hosting a major global tournament for the first time in nearly three decades, made a disappointing start to their Champions Trophy campaign, losing to New Zealand in the opening match and jeopardizing their chances of qualifying for the semifinals.

The 34-year-old Umar, who has been out of the national side since 2019, did not hold back in criticizing Babar’s leadership, accusing him of lacking vision.

“Babar was captain for nearly five years most of the time in all formats and he never tried to build up the bench strength due to his likes and dislikes,” Umar told a TV channel.

Babar served as Pakistan's captain from late 2019 until late 2023 before stepping down following the 2023 World Cup. He was reinstated as captain in 2024 for white-ball formats but relinquished the role after a disappointing World T20 Cup campaign last year.

Umar said that during a period when he was in good form and scoring runs in domestic cricket, he had approached Babar, asking for a chance to make a comeback.

"I told Babar that look give me a fair chance. You are doing well in the top order and I can be your finisher and we can win matches regularly and it will be good for Pakistan cricket," he said.

However, Umar said his request was ignored.

“He didn’t listen to me and for five years when he was captain he never bothered to try to build a strong bench because only teams with good back up players do consistently well in all formats,” he added.

Umar, who is Babar's cousin, represented Pakistan in 16 Tests, 121 ODIs, and 84 T20Is before being dropped from the national team in 2019.

He stated that the Pakistan team has stagnated because talented players, who have performed consistently in domestic cricket, have not been given a fair chance under Babar's leadership.

Babar has been facing a lot of heat since Pakistan’s loss in the final of the three-nation event on February 14 and his poor performance in the opening match of the Champions Trophy has only intensified the pressure.

Former Test batsman, Basit Ali has also raised questions about whether Babar believes he is bigger than the team, particularly in light of his struggles and his refusal to adapt to the team’s changing requirements.