Babar Azam has been given the opportunity to lead the white-ball team once more, ending Shaheen Shah Afridi’s one-series reign as Pakistan T20I captain. To make the offer, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with Babar earlier this week.
For his part, Babar hasn’t yet said yes to the proposal. After Pakistan’s dismal 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, he was upset that the PCB had stripped him of the armband in all three formats. If he is to consider a comeback, he has asked to be named captain in all three formats. Shan Masood is the current Test captain, having led the team in a three-match series in Australia, although no official ODI captain has been named since Babar unwillingly stood down.
At a news conference in Lahore on Sunday, Naqvi declined to support Afridi, stating that a final decision would be taken once Pakistan’s military training camp concluded. At that point, it was clear that Afridi’s chances of winning were slim. But after leading Pakistan in one series and his PSL team, Lahore Qalandars, it seems that confidence in Afridi’s leadership skills has quickly evaporated. Qatar won just one game out of ten and finished bottom of the PSL table, while Pakistan lost the T20I series 4-1 against New Zealand.
Nevertheless, considering Naqvi’s remarks, Afridi will feel unfairly treated.
that Pakistan preferred having a long-term captain they could support to making snap decisions after a few games, as that is exactly what has occurred to him. The fact that Afridi, who is still only 23 years old, could learn on the job and hold the position for a long time was part of the attraction to selecting him as captain. He was also seen as the favourite to assume leadership of the ODI team.
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Furthermore, Masood’s status as red-ball captain is under a lot of pressure despite Babar’s insistence on being named Test captain, which is not seen to be a deal-breaker for the previous captain. Pakistan lost all three games in Australia under his leadership, and he has only captained the team once. Nonetheless, despite injuries weakening the bowling attack, a more aggressive style as captain was generally regarded as a major factor in Pakistan running the hosts close in two of the three Tests.
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