'Jaan dene ko taiyyar': Shan Masood's major vote of confidence for Babar Azam amid mounting criticism

Shan Masood himself had been touted as one of the options to replace Babar Azam as the Pakistan captain faces the heat for the team's recent string of losses particularly in Test cricket.

Babar Azam has been under fire from all quarters for his captaincy for a while now but his teammates seem to have started coming out in support of him. Babar's captaincy credentials were called into question due to Pakistan's recent horror run in Test cricket at home. It led to a number of former players stating that it may be better for Pakistan to remove Babar as Test captain so that he can concentrate on leading the limited overs teams and take care of his own career as a batter.

Pakistan have endured a horror run at home in Test cricket (AP)

However, players seem to be convinced that Babar is the right man to lead the team. Shan Masood, who has been touted as the leading candidate to replace Babar as Test captain, said that the team is ready to give up their lives for the 28-year-old.

“Hum sab Babar Azam ke behind hai. Jis tarike se koi bhi aapka captain hota hai, jab Saifi bhai thai, tb bhi hum jaan dene ko taiyaar thai, ab jab Babar Azam hai, tb bhi hum jaan dene ko taiyaar hai. (We are all behind Babar Azam. We were ready to sacrifice our lives for Sarfaraz Ahmed when he was the captain, and now we are ready to do the same for Babar Azam),” said Masood on Samaa TV.

Babar's captaincy credentials were questioned by his critics after a relentless England side hammered Pakistan in the three-match Test series. Babar and Co. were completely outplayed by England as Pakistan suffered its first-ever 3-0 loss in a three-test series on home soil last year. “Our common goal is to play for the country. We read a lot of news in which people are trying to tear the team apart but personally, no one has an issue with each other. We are playing for Pakistan and that is a big privilege and we are united by that cause,” said Masood.

Fast bowler Haris Rauf has also reserved high praise for Babar. “I strongly believe that the improvement in my performance is all because of Babar Azam. We played really good and exciting cricket in the last two years. In this period, we emerged as a good unit, especially in white-ball cricket, and the credit goes to our skipper Babar Azam, who trusted the abilities of players, which ultimately gave us the confidence,” Rauf told Dawn. Rauf made his international debut under the leadership of Babar in 2020. Pacer Rauf has played 1 Test, 18 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 57 T20Is for Pakistan. Rauf was a part of the Babar-led side that made it to the final of the ICC World T20 2022 in Australia.