World Cup 2023: 'Babar Azam is depressed!' claims former Pakistan captain after talking to him

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Pakistan captain Babar Azam is a depressed and frustrated man said former Pakistan captain and PCB chief Ramiz Raja, who spoke to the batter on the eve of the England vs Pakistan match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday (November 11) during ICC World Cup 2023.

Ramiz Raja said he felt very bad for Babar Azam as he could see from his body language that the current Pakistan captain was down and low on confidence. Further news is also making rounds that Babar Azam is all set to step down as the captain once the team flies back home following their last match in the tournament.

"Babar seemed to be very frustrated and looked depressed. I felt really bad. The conversation regarding his captaincy was private, and I don't want to make it public," Raja said on a local TV channel.

PCB earlier faced strong criticism after news came out from their corridors that chairman Zaka Ashraf wanted Babar Azam out as the captain when Pakistan lost four back-to-back games. However, the rumours soon evaporated when Fakhar Zaman's heroics saw the Men in Green come back into the reckoning for the semis with consecutive wins.

The period was marred with further controversy as Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down as the chief selector amid allegations of conflict of interest as his nephew Imam-ul-Haq was part of the squad and failed to impress.

Former wicketkeeper Rashid Latif added further fuel to the fire when he claimed on a local channel that Zaka Ashraf has been ignoring calls by Babar Azam while months of salaries of the national team players are due. Zaka Ashraf later revealed through a screenshot of a Whatsapp conversation between a Pak official and Babar that Latif's claims are wrong.

However, Zaka faced further criticism from fans and former cricketers alike for paying little attention to the privacy of the captain by revealing a private conversation. The social media outcry led to an apology from the TV channel for airing the screenshot as well.