Shaheen Afridi to be replaced as captain: Pakistan’s method of rotating captains has consistently presented difficulties. Recently appointed cricket leader Babar Azam seems to have settled the situation. Since his resignation after Pakistan failed to reach the ODI World Cup semi-finals in November 2023, the captain’s situation has been unknown again.
Pakistan is poised to reinstall Babar Azam as T20I captain, replacing Shaheen Afridi, according to Espncricinfo. The report further states that PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi presented the offer to Babar earlier this week.
Babar Azam has not yet accepted the offer and has requested that the PCB appoint him captain of all three formats before he will contemplate a return, according to the report.
Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairperson, removed Babar as the white-ball format captain immediately after the conclusion of the World Cup. He subsequently decided to resign as the red-ball captain as well.
Babar had led all formats since 2020; however, he was fired after poor Asia Cup and World Cup performances.
Pakistan expects Babar to lead them in their five-T20I series against New Zealand in April.
According to reports, Babar Azam will be reappointed captain of Pakistan before the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2024.
Following Pakistan’s poor performance in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, the PCB dismissed Babar Azam. They were eliminated in the semifinals and won a mere four of their last nine contests. As a consequence, he was deposed from command. Shan Masood was designated as the commander of the test team. Nevertheless, in his inaugural series as Test captain, Masood’s Pakistan lost the series 0-3 to Australia. In light of the upcoming mega-ICC tournament in June, the PCB is seeking a seasoned commander.
Before this, certain publications asserted that Mohammad Rizwan was the leading candidate to be appointed T20 captain. However, some sources have now confirmed that Babar’s prospects of regaining the position of all-format captain have increased. The PCB has extended a captaincy offer to the 29-year-old, but he is hesitant to accept the position due to how he was previously fired.
Additionally, it has come to light that Babar is awaiting the board’s reassurance before assuming accountability. If it occurs, however, it will not be an unprecedented occurrence in Pakistani cricket. There are numerous instances in which a player who was supplanted at some point in his career regained the captaincy.
In recent days, Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir have also emerged from retirement, attributing their comebacks to PCB encouragement. Both players have the possibility of being selected for the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup.
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