(Cricket News) Babar Azam has resigned from all formats as Pakistan’s captain after the team’s poor performance at the 2023 World Cup. After the league stage under Babar, Pakistan came in seventh on the points table and, at one point, were falling even lower after losing four straight games. Pakistan managed to reclaim some of the victories, but not enough to advance to the semifinals. Following Pakistan’s elimination, there were strong calls for Babar to be removed from his captaincy. The star batsman made the decision via a social media post.

“I am leaving my position as Pakistan’s captain in all formats today. Though it’s a tough choice, I think this call is appropriate at this moment. I’ll be playing in all three formats for Pakistan going forward. I’m here to lend my expertise and commitment to the team and the new captain. In a statement, Babar added, “I would like to convey my profound gratitude to the Pakistan Cricket Board for giving me this important responsibility.”

Babar Azam was named Pakistan’s T20I captain in October 2019 and assumed the ODI captaincy in May 2020. A month later, he became the official captain of all forms. Babar led Pakistan to the top of the ODI rankings during a captaincy characterized by both individual and team triumphs. The squad advanced to the T20 World Cup semifinals in 2021 and finished second in the championship game the following year. Prior to Shubman Gill unseating him from the top slot earlier this month, Babar was the world’s top-ranked ODI hitter in April 2021, which occurred at the same time as his ascent to captaincy.

“I still clearly recall the day I was called by PCB to lead Pakistan in 2019.” I’ve had a lot of highs and lows over the last four years, both on and off the pitch, but my one and only goal has been to keep Pakistan’s pride and respect in the cricket world intact.” Babar went on. “Reaching the No. 1 spot in the white-ball format was a result of the collective efforts of players, coaches, and management, but I’d like to express my gratitude to passionate Pakistan cricket fans for their unwavering support during this journey.”

But when Babar’s own form with the bat plummeted, his time was over. Babar, who has a career ODI average of 56.72 and 19 hundreds, had a difficult World Cup, amassing 320 runs in his nine innings with a top score of just 74.

See also: Kohli hits 50th ODI century as India Beat New Zealand by 70 Runs.