Pakistan Cricket Board Announce Babar Azam as ODI and T20I Captain

Pakistan star batter Babar Azam returned as captain of the national team taking the upcoming T20I World Cup into consideration and for the T20I series against New Zealand, starting from April 18. Babar will only lead Pakistan in ODIs and T20Is while Shan Masood will continue to captain the side in Test cricket.

New Delhi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday appointed star batter Babar Azam as Pakistan's ODI and T20I captain, replacing pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi at the helm.

The decision came after Pakistan's disastrous outing in New Zealand as they lost the five-match series by 4-1 under the leadership of Afridi. Apart from this, the left-arm pacer-led franchise Lahore Qalandars finished at the bottom of the points table in the Pakistan Super League this year which raised some questions about his leadership skills.

Babar was immediately removed as captain in the white-ball format after the forgettable ODI World Cup 2023. Babar had held the position of captain in all formats since 2020 but poor performances in the Asia Cup and World Cup led to his axing.

PCB announced his appointment through a social media post. The board posted one video featuring Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and Babar on their official X handle (Formerly Twitter) and wrote," Babar Azam appointed as white-ball captain Following unanimous recommendation from the PCB’s selection committee, Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi has appointed Babar Azam as white-ball (ODI and T20I) captain of the Pakistan men's cricket team."

The Pakistan Cricket Board it appears has lost faith in the ability of Shan Masood and Shaheen Shah Afridi to lead the national side and feels former skipper Babar Azam is the best choice to captain the side once again. Babar quit as Pakistan captain across all formats after his team failed to make it past the group stages during the ODI World Cup in India last year.

The 29-year-old had relinquished his role after the then PCB Chief Zaka Ashraf told him he would no longer be captain the white-ball formats and would only lead the Test team. Under Babar's captaincy, Pakistan reached the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. The latest edition of the marquee event will begin on June 1 in the USA and the West Indies.

The source said the announcement was made after selectors -- Muhammad Yousuf, Asad Shafiq, Wahab Riaz, Abdul Razzaq and Bilal Afzal -- met with Shaheen in the training camp in Kakul on Saturday evening and informed him that they wanted him to focus on his bowling and felt it was better if a batter leads the white ball teams.

Insiders revealed that Shaheen accepted the change and didn't protest much but pointed out that it was unfair on him to be judged on just one series. According to the source, Shaheen's inability to effectively lead the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League, resulting in their last-place finish, coupled with his own inconsistent performance, were key factors influencing the decision to replace him.

"The PCB Chairman had made it clear to the selectors that they must decide who should be the captain and also said they would be answerable for the performances of the national team in the future, the source added. (With PTI inputs)

Read More