PCB ‘unanimously’ sacks Shaheen Shah Afridi, reappoints Babar Azam as white-ball captain

Veteran Pakistani opener Babar Azam will once again don the captain's hat for the Pakistan cricket team in the ODI and T20 formats, taking over from pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. Notably, Afridi was relieved of his duties as white ball captain after the pakistani team lost the recently concluded 5-match series 4-1.

Babar had resigned from the captaincy shortly after the conclusion of the 2023 ODI World Cup, in which his team failed to secure a berth in the qualifying stages. Following Babar's resignation, PCB had appointed Shaheen Shah Afridi as the white-ball captain while Shan Masood was named the red-ball skipper.

While announcing the decision on X (formerly Twitter), the Pakistan Cricket Board wrote: “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.”

According to a PTI report, Babar Azam had sought assurances from PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi about the duration of his appointment and also requested to be appointed as Test captain. The report white citing sources stated that Naqvi told Azam that he would be given a proper run as white-ball captain but a decision on the Test captaincy would be taken later.

"Naqvi made it clear to Babar that PCB will decide on the Test captaincy after appointing the red ball foreign coach and Pakistan has no Test commitments until after the World Cup," the source told PTI

"The PCB Chairman had made it clear to the selectors that they must decide who should be the captain and also said they would be answerable for the performances of the national team in the future,” the report further stated.

Road ahead for Babar Azam:

The newly-appointed Pakistan skipper will first be seen in action in the upcoming 5-match T20 series against New Zealand starting on April 18. And with the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States just two months away, Babar will be looking to put together an XI that can take on the world's best at the marquee event.