Shaheen Afridi sacked, Babar Azam regains Pakistan ODI, T20Is captaincy Cricket News

Babar Azam, a stalwart of Pakistan cricket, has been reappointed as captain of the men’s national team as well as ODI and T20I formats. Babar relinquished his duties as Pakistan captain after the 2023 ODI World Cup. However, the PCB decided to once again hand over the leadership of the team to him with Mohsin Naqvi as chairman.

The Pakistan Cricket Board wrote in a post: “Babar Azam has been appointed as the white-ball captain. On the unanimous recommendation of the PCB selection committee, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has appointed Babar Azam as the white-ball captain of the Pakistan Cricket Board.” (ODI and T20I) Captain Men’s Cricket Team.”

Babar Azam named white-ball captain

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has appointed Babar Azam as the white-ball (ODI and T20I) captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team following the unanimous recommendation of the PCB Selection Committee. pic.twitter.com/ad4KLJYRMK

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 31, 2024

Babar will replace Shaheen Shah Afridi as the team’s T20I captain. After Babar’s exit, the PCB officially named the ODI captain and Shan Masood is the current Test captain who led the team in the three-match series in Australia.

Although Masood lost to Australia in his previous assignment, he will continue to lead Pakistan in Tests. In the T20I series, Pakistan lost Afridi’s first series as captain 4-1. The fast bowler’s PSL side Lahore Qalandars have also been unable to do anything in the T20 league, leaving stakeholders to question his appointment as captain in the shortest format.

According to a PCB statement, the current selection panel fully supports Babar’s return as the white-ball captain of the team. The selection committee consists of Wahab Riaz, Asad Shafiq, Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Yousuf.

Babar’s first assignment after returning as captain will be a five-match T20I series against New Zealand at home, before Pakistan play another four T20Is away from home against England. The most important task is the T20 World Cup later this year.

However, Babar’s appointment as captain did come as a blow to Shaheen Shah Afridi who was hoping to lead the team in the T20 World Cup.