PCB reappoints Babar Azam as Pakistan’s white-ball captain

In a major twist involving the leadership group in Pakistan Cricket, star batter Babar Azam has been re-appointed as the new white-ball captain, the board’s chairman Mohsin Naqvi confirmed in a statement. Babar has replaced ace seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi as the T20I captain, while the board is yet to announce an ODI skipper following Babar’s removal as all-format skipper post-2023 World Cup.

In a video posted on Pakistan Cricket’s social media handles, the PCB chairman is seen speaking with Babar about taking over the ODI and T20I captaincy.

“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,” a post read.

Meanwhile, following the disastrous World Cup campaign last year, where despite having favourable conditions at their disposal, Pakistan failed to reach the semis, leading PCB to take some stern steps in their quest to revive cricket’s craze in the country . They removed the coaching staff and Babar Azam as an all-format captain. While seamer Shaheen replaced him as the T20I skipper, Shan Masood was named the new Test captain.

Upon being appointed as the T20I captain, with credentials of helping his franchise, Lahore Qalandars, win back-to-back PSL titles, Shaheen failed to replicate his magic in Pakistan colours, losing 1-4 to New Zealand on an away tour in his first assignment. Moreover, a poor PSL 2024, in which his team won just one out of ten matches, led to the selectors looking beyond Shaheen for the shorter-format.

The recent reports indicate the change in the leadership group, with the PCB chairman commenting, saying he is unsure if Afridi remains the captain heading into the 2024 T20 World Cup. 

Having led Pakistan in several ICC tournaments, including two T20 World Cups and the 50-over tournament in India last year, Babar knows what the big stage demands and would be ready to prepare for the ultimate glory when Pakistan takes the field for the 20-team-tournament later in June. 

With captaincy pressure released off Shaheen’s shoulders, the left-arm seamer can return to focusing on his bowling ahead of the tournament. Besides, with two former cricketers – Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, announcing their decisions to unretire, Babar will have to make a tough choice in picking the best 15 for the T20 World Cup.

However, before that, Pakistan will host New Zealand for five T20Is in April and will travel to the UK for the T20 series against Ireland and England.