The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to bring back Babar Azam as the captain for T20 matches. This decision came after the new selection committee suggested changing the captain.
Reports say that Babar Azam will lead the team in the upcoming five-match T20 series against New Zealand.
Before this, Shaheen Shah Afridi became the captain for white-ball matches during Zaka Ashraf’s time as the PCB head. This change happened because the team didn’t do well in the ICC World Cup 2023. Shan Masood also became the captain for red-ball matches under the previous management.
According to insiders, the selection committee unanimously told PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi that Babar Azam should lead the T20 team. Babar, who is 29 years old, will take part in the training camp in Kakul as the captain.
Meanwhile, there were talks that Shaheen might step down as T20 captain because of these changes. But people close to him advised against it. They said that the PCB gets to decide who the captain is, and Shaheen should accept whatever decision they make.
Babar had earlier resigned from being the captain in all formats last November. This came after a disappointing World Cup where Pakistan didn’t do well.
The former captain faced criticism for several months after Pakistan’s not-so-great performances in the Asia Cup and the World Cup. They didn’t make it to the semifinals in either tournament.
