Pakistan cricket affected a lot by politics, Babar Azam should be careful: Grant Flower

Babar Azam was appointed as the T20I captain of the Pakistan national team ahead of the Australia tour last year. The stylish right-hander was also handed over the reins of the ODI team as well last month when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the central contracts for the 2020-21 season. The decision was lauded by many but former Pakistan batting coach Grant Flower has warned Babar Azam saying that there's a lot of politics in Pakistan cricket.

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Grant Flower warns Babar Azam of politics in Pakistan cricket

Grant Flower held his position as the batting coach of the Pakistan national team from his appointment in May 2014 to the end of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, after which the PCB decided to not renew his contract. The culminating point of Grant Flower's tenure was Pakistan's triumph in 2017 Champions Trophy. However, after he was axed last year, Grant Flower had accused the former Pakistan players of backstabbing and had pointed out that there is a lot of politics within the TV channels, journalists and the PCB itself.

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However, Grant Flower has backed Babar Azam to do well but at the same time, he has also warned him about the politics in Pakistan cricket. According to Statsperform, Flower said that Babar Azam has got a good cricketing brain but there is a lot of politics in Pakistan cricket and a lot of pressure from the public. He added that pressure mounts on very good players if the team doesn’t do well, which turn also affects the captain's performance and things can all come tumbling down pretty quickly.

Flower further said that the cricketing community has witnessed great players who couldn't handle the pressure that captaincy had brought. However, he said that some players get better under pressure and if Babar Azam is amongst them, than the world will be his oyster. He concluded saying that only time will tell how Babar Azam's career pans out.

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Ramiz Raja says Babar Azam can learn captaincy techniques from Virat Kohli & Kane Williamson

On his official YouTube channel, Raja went on to say that there are two role models in international cricket from which the star batsman can understand and learn about captaincy techniques. The first one being Virat Kohli’s captaincy model, which is aggressive. He then mentioned that Kohli has a strong body language and that he is passionate and emotional on the cricket field which enhances the performance of the top-ranked ODI batsman with that sort of body language and challenges his team. Raja also added that Kohli's tactics are paying off as he is getting glorious results from these aggressive captaincy tactics.

Talking about Kane Williamson's captaincy tactics, the 1992 World Cup winner mentioned that the New Zealand captain is a slow individual and that he does his captaincy slowly. Furthermore, the cricketer-turned-commentator also added that Williamson does not get emotional on the cricket field nor does he have a strong body language like Kohli but follows the process and that the Black Caps skipper's selection is brilliant.

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IMAGE COURTESY: AP