Reappointed as the captain of the national squad in both white-ball formats is Pakistan’s talisman, batsman Babar Azam, in an intriguing development. In April, he will be assigned to the five-match T20I home series against New Zealand.
Reports a few days earlier said that Babar was expected to be named Pakistan’s captain again. The right-handed hitter will lead the Men in Green in ODIs and T20Is once more, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Sunday, March 31 via their official ‘X’ handle.
“White-ball skipper Barack Azam has been named. The PCB tweeted, “Honorary PCB Mohsin Naqvi has appointed Babar Azam as white-ball (ODI and T20I) captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, following unanimous recommendation from the PCB’s selection committee. The PCB also shared a video of the new captain and PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, having what appeared to be a lighthearted discussion.”
Babar Azam appointed as white-ball captain
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. pic.twitter.com/ad4KLJYRMK
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 31, 2024
After the Asian heavyweights failed to secure a semifinal berth in the ODI World Cup in India, Babar was relieved of his captaincy responsibilities in the white-ball formats in November 2023. The PCB chairman at the time was Zaka Ashraf. Babar then resigned from his position as red-ball captain as well. But after just four months, he was handed leadership of Pakistan’s white-ball sides, with the T20 World Cup 2024 scheduled for June.
The captaincy of Shaheen Afridi concludes after just one series.
Following Babar’s dismissal, Shaheen Afridi was named Pakistan’s Twenty20 international captain. During their five-match tour of New Zealand in January 2024, he captained the squad. Nevertheless, the outcome was far from ideal, as the guests dropped the series 1-4. Before winning the meaningless fifth Twenty20 international match, they were badly beaten in the first four games.
Also read: Mayank Yadav’s speed versus PBKS pleased Sanjay Manjrekar, “We can fast-track him.”
As the national T20 captain, Shaheen is understandably upset. He expected that even if the board or selectors wanted to remove him, they would have the courtesy to tell him of the reasons for this and keep him updated on everything, as a source close to the left-arm pacer was quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying.
After just one series, Shaheen’s time as the captain of Pakistan has already come to an end. In the forthcoming home five-match series against New Zealand, he will be playing under Babar once more. In the lead-up to the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies, Pakistan is scheduled to play 12 T20I matches.
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