Babar Azam, who stepped down from Pakistan’s captaincy post the ODI World Cup 2023, is reportedly ready to make a return as skipper under the new PCB chairman, Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi.
Following the appointment of Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi as the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), there are indications that star batsman Babar Azam may reclaim the captaincy role. Babar had relinquished captaincy across all formats after Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the ODI World Cup 2023, where they failed to reach the semi-finals, finishing fifth with four wins from nine matches.
Despite former PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf’s plea for him to continue leading the Test team, Babar expressed disinterest. However, recent reports from Pakistan journalist Qadir Khawaja suggest that Babar could indeed be reinstated as the team’s captain.
Following Babar’s resignation, Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi were respectively appointed as Test and T20I captains, while the ODI captaincy remains vacant. Pakistan’s woes persisted under new leadership, suffering a sixth consecutive whitewash in Australia and losing 17 consecutive Tests down under. Additionally, they faced a 1-4 defeat in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand led by Afridi.
Babar is currently participating in the Bangladesh Premier League 2024, boasting 251 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 50.20 and a strike rate of 114.61, including two fifties. Despite a stellar performance in the T20I series against New Zealand, his Test series against Australia proved challenging, managing only 126 runs without a fifty.
During his tenure as Pakistan’s captain starting from 2019, Babar has achieved significant milestones. He led Pakistan to a historic 10-wicket victory against India in the T20 World Cup 2021 and guided the team to the final of the T20 World Cup 2022. Under his captaincy, Pakistan has won 10 Tests, 26 ODIs, and 42 T20Is.
Last Updated on February 7, 2024
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