Reacting to rumours of Muhammad Rizwan replacing Babar Azam as Pakistan white-ball captain, ex-Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal said, "Do you think new captain will bring Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli or Steve Smith into...team to boost...performance?" "Replacing captains will make no difference," he stated. Under Babar, Pakistan suffered group-stage exits in 2023 ODI World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup.