Babar Azam is likely to return as Pakistan captain after the appointment of Pakistan Cricket Board’s new chairman. The development was confirmed by sports journalist Qadir Khawaja.
Babar left Pakistan’s captaincy after the team’s failure in the ICC World Cup 2023 in India. The Men in Green had failed to qualify for the knock-outs and won just 4 games.
Babar stepped down from the leadership role across formats. However, according to the then PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf, he had urged Azam to continue leading in Test cricket but the player refused to give any commitment. “I had asked Babar Azam to continue as skipper in Test cricket but he told me that he will speak to his family members before taking any decision. However, he went to his manager, who told him to leave the captaincy from all formats,” Zaka Ashraf said.
Shan Masood was given the responsibility of leading Test team in a three-match series in Australia. Pakistan were blanked 0-3 by the Pat Cummins-led team.
Shaheen Afridi, who was Pakistan’s new T20I captain, didn’t faired well either. In his first assignment, Pakistan were thumped by New Zealand in the five-match T20I series. The scoreline was 4-1 in favour of the Kiwis.
Pakistan have slipped futher after Babar’s resignation. With Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi taking charge as the head of PCB for three years, the changes are expected in the team management and captaincy.
Former Pakistan player Ramiz Raja was PCB’s last full-time chairman before he was removed.
Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf led the board for a few months as interim heads, with the latter leaving the organization in January this year.