Babar Azam Reappoints as Pakistan’s white-ball Captain: PCB

(CTN News) – Babar Azam returned to the men’s cricket team captaincy on Sunday after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) declared he would lead the Green Shirts in one-day internationals and Twenty20 cricket.

The PCB announced on social networking platform X that “Babar Azam has been appointed as white-ball captain.”

It stated that the decision was based on a “unanimous recommendation” by the PCB’s selection committee and its chairman, Mohsin Naqvi.

The PCB also posted a video of a meeting between Babar and Naqvi.

Babar Azam was appointed T20 captain in 2019 before taking over the Test and ODI squads in 2020.

Babar resigned in November 2018 due to Pakistan’s poor performance in the Asia Cup and 50-over World Cup. Shaheen Shah Afridi succeeded him as T20 captain, while Shan Masood took over as Test captain.

Babar Azam’s Conditions for Captaincy Revealed: Supreme Authority and Two-Year Tenure

Dawn understood that Naqvi’s newly “reorganized” national selection committee kept both in the dark while deciding on the next national team captain before agreeing on Babar’s name on Friday.

With Babar Azam ‘s comeback, Shaheen’s T20 international captaincy will be restricted to one series, and the PCB’s lack of understanding of his role as a stakeholder in the scenario may jeopardize the stability of the Pakistan dressing room.

According to sources, many in PCB believed the organization made a mistake by not keeping Shaheen in the loop about captaincy and instead alerting the pacer of its decision to reinstate Babar as skipper.

“As both Shaheen and Babar are not on one-page for the last few months, the decision of appointing Babar without taking Shaheen into confidence may affect the unity within the national team as the fast bowler also has a good number of players supporting him,” a source with knowledge of the situation told Dawn.

During Babar’s nearly three-year stint as Pakistan captain, senior players Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir had fallen out of favor with the selectors, and their chances of returning to the squad were slim. Both were openly critical of Babar’s approach as captain and spoke out about it on national television.

Mohsin has reintroduced all-rounder Imad and bowler Amir into the Pakistani team for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies. However, with Babar as captain, things may get complicated.

“The expected selection of pacer Mohammad Amir and all-rounder Imad Wasim in the national team after they had withdrawn from international cricket recently may not make Babar Azam happy,” the sources said.

Following today’s development, Babar will join the selection committee, which includes four former Test players — Asad Shafiq, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Yousuf, and Abdul Razzaq — and statistics analyst Bilal Afzal.

On Saturday, the PCB sent newly appointed national selectors to Kakul to meet with Shaheen and Babar Azam to resolve the issue of white-ball captaincy.

The Pakistan side, currently without a coach, is attending a training camp at Pakistan Military Academy to prepare for next month’s T20 International home series against New Zealand.

According to BBC sources, Babar Azam imposed strict conditions on the PCB before resuming the role. Babar Azam has requested supreme authority as captain and hopes to hold the position for at least two years. Furthermore, the right-hander has asked the PCB not to hold him accountable for the Pakistan team’s performance in the 2019 World Cup.