Shahid Afridi criticized Babar Azam’s captaincy, expressing disappointment in how the national cricket team performed poorly at the Cricket World Cup 2023. Pakistan lost five out of nine matches in the league stage and didn’t make it to the semi-finals, even suffering a defeat against Afghanistan. Afridi, a fan of Babar, had hoped for him to become one of the top captains globally after leading for about four years. However, he observed that Babar did not improve or demonstrate effective leadership during this time. Afridi emphasized the need for a captain to unite the team and involve multiple players in decision-making, pointing out that Babar fell short in this aspect. Following Pakistan’s disappointing campaign, Morne Morkel resigned as the team’s bowling coach.