Babar Azam, a legend of Pakistani cricket, declined to lead Colombo Strikers in the current 2023 Lanka Premier League (LPL). He chose to concentrate only on his batting, instead. Cricket lovers have been debating this choice, which was made public by the captain Niroshan Dickwella and the head coach Simon Helmot.
Babar Azam, who is considered as one of the best players of the modern period, recently displayed his talent by scoring a century in a close chase to become only the second player to accumulate at least 10 centuries in the T20 format. Babar Azam had to decide between competing in the Global T20 League or the Lanka Premiere League, and in the end he picked the LPL 2023 because the World Cup will take place in an Asian environment. His father was instrumental in persuading him, pointing out the similarities between Sri Lankan pitches and those anticipated for the 2018 World Cup in India.
Babar Azam has established his supremacy on the run-scorers leaderboard with an astounding 235 runs in five innings.
He has risen to the top position thanks to his exceptional accomplishments, surpassing rivals like Tim Seifert. Babar is notable for being the only player in the league this year to score a century.
It is obvious that Babar’s effect goes beyond his batsmanship. The skipper’s selection of Niroshan Dickwella as captain was a sign of how he valued teamwork and was committed to the group’s success.
Babar wanted Dickwella to be the captain, and after that, everything was quite straightforward for us. He is quite cooperative. No matter what their needs are—emotionally, mentally, or technically—Babar takes care of them. He is a fantastic asset to have as a backup support system,” Helmot told Wisden in an interview.
I’ve had his assistance the entire inning, and we always come to conclusions together: Dickwella
Dickwella, who hadn’t frequently served as captain, was happy to take on the role. He highlighted their joint decision-making process and expressed admiration for Babar’s strategy. Dickwella stressed the value of retaining simple and resisting giving in to intimidation despite the difficulties of his newly acquired captaincy post.
In particular, being in the centre with Babar, I’m relishing my duty. I’ve had his assistance the entire inning, and we always come to conclusions together. We share the same mentality. I gather opinions from everyone and attempt to make the best choice possible based on my feelings at the end of the day. Just keep things basic, Dickwella advised.
India
