Babar Azam likely to become Pakistan captain again

It looks like Shaheen Shah Afridi’s stint as Pakistan captain is coming to an end just after one series, as Pakistan Cricket Board is mulling over in bringing back Babar Azam at the helm.

Shaheen had a poor start to his captaincy stint as Pakistan suffered a crushing 4-1 defeat against New Zealand. Moreover, his captaincy misery continued in the HBL Pakistan Super League season nine as defending champions Lahore Qalandars were knocked out from the tournament after losing six game on a trot.

His performance in the Pakistan’s premier T20 competition put him in a tight spot to continue with the Pakistan cricket team as its leader.

Initially, Mohammad Rizwan, who had a wonderful run with Multan Sultans in the tournament, was favourite to replace Shaheen as Pakistan captain.

However, according to Cricket Pakistan, recent developments have positioned Babar as the primary candidate for the captaincy once again.

PCB officials are close to finalising their decision to entrust him with the role.

The prolific batter was relived from his white-ball captaincy after the below-par performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Despite, the board wants him to continue as captain in the Test cricket, but he stepped away from the post as well.

Following that Shaheen was named as T20 captain, while Shan Masood led the Test side. Pakistan’s performance suffered, notably losing all three Tests in Australia and facing a 4-1defeat in the T20I series in New Zealand.

Since then, there has been a change in PCB leadership, with Mohsin Naqvi succeeding Zaka Ashraf as chairman. Naqvi hinted at a potential change in captaincy during his interactions with the media.

The publication citing its sources reported that the 29-year-old remains hesitant to accept the responsibility again as he was dissatisfied with the handling of his previous removal from the post.

He seeks assurances from the board regarding certain matters and will only agree to reassume the captaincy if his concerns are addressed.