'Remove Babar Azam as captain...', PCB chief Najam Sethi drops bombshell

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi revealed Shahid Afridi-led interim selection committee, which was appointed for the New Zealand series, wanted to remove regular skipper Babar Azam from the post. However, following the series, they did a U-turn and asked Sethi to stick with Babar as an all-format captain.Speaking on his YouTube channel, Sethi said he told the Afridi-led committee that they are always entitled to change their minds.

“We made an interim selection committee when we took charge. Before the selectors came on board, they told us that there will need to be some changes and Babar needs to be replaced as captain as well,” Sethi said on a YouTube channel. “However, as soon as they were appointed, they said there is no need to replace Babar. I told them that you are entitled to change your mind,” he added.

After Afridi resigned from the post, Haroon Rashid replaced him. Meanwhile, following a shallow home season last year where Pakistan suffered a Test series whitewash (3-0) at the hands of England and even failed to beat New Zealand in the two-match Test series, there were speculations of Babar getting removed as a skipper from at least one format.

Moreover, after the PSL this year, and while looking at the tight cricket calendar, there were discussions inside the board about handing T20I captaincy duties to someone else, preferably Shaheen Afridi, who led Lahore Qalandarsto successive titles. Sethi, however, has dismissed such reports adding that for as long as Babar is doing well at the top level consistently, he will remain the all-format skipper going forward.

“As long as Babar is a successful batsman and a successful captain, he will remain captain. If you continue to lose series, people will start questioning your captaincy and other qualities,” he said.

Following getting rest in the recently-concluded Afghanistan T20I series that Pakistan lost, Babar and other senior players will return for the home ten-match white-ball series against the Kiwis, starting April 14th in Lahore.