Pakistan’s middle-order batsman, Babar Azam, has made a request to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) regarding his captaincy role. Babar has asked to be appointed as the captain across all cricket formats before considering the T20I captaincy.
The PCB approached Babar to take over the T20I captaincy from Shaheen Shah Afridi after just one series against New Zealand in January, ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, the 29-year-old has not yet responded to the management’s offer.
After the ICC World Cup 2023, Babar was relieved of his captaincy duties across all formats. Shaheen became the leader in the shorter format, and Shan Masood was appointed as Test captain. However, no captain for ODIs was announced.
To entertain the PCB’s request to lead the team in the World Cup, Babar has set a condition of being appointed as the captain across all formats. Otherwise, he will not consider the offer.
During a recent press conference, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi expressed uncertainty about who would captain the team in the World Cup. His remarks sparked speculation about Afridi’s removal as the T20I captain.
Naqvi mentioned, “Even I don’t know who the captain will be. Whether Shaheen continues or a new captain comes in will be determined after the fitness camp [starting on Monday]. There are a number of technical factors we will consider, the details of which I do not want to go into. We want a long-term solution, whether it’s Shaheen or a new man. And then we intend to stick by that man, instead of just changing a captain just because you lose a match or captain.”
