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.
