Captaincy Carrier of Babar Azam May End, Pakistan Cricket Board to take a Big Decision Very Soon
Babar Azam's days as Pakistan's white-ball captain could be numbered, with wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan emerging as the candidate to lead the team in ODIs and T20Is -- according to Geo News.
Babar Azam and Pakistan Cricket Board: Not in the run for a long time. The Pakistan Cricket Board is going to take a final decision on Babar Azam. Babar was not selected as the captain in the upcoming Champions Cup in Pakistan's domestic cricket. It is being said in several Pakistani media that the PCB is on the way to remove Babar from the leadership of the limited overs format.
Despite being captained by Shan Masood in Tests, Babar has regained the leadership in the limited-overs format from Shaheen Afridi. Mohammad Rizwan can be the new captain of Pakistan after removing Babar. That is what is being said. Pakistan will play three T20Is and ODIs in Australia. The new captain can take over on that tour.
As per the Geo News report, "there was a fair chance of appointment of a new captain in place of the star batsman (Babar) later this year. The appointment of a new skipper for one-day international and T20 formats was likely ahead of the Australia tour, slated for November".
New head coach Gary Kirsten also agrees with Babar's exclusion. He has already held extensive discussions with PCB officials. While Mohammad Rizwan has been named the leader of the limited overs format for now, he may be made the captain of all the three formats in the near future. There is a possibility.
On the other hand Shaun Masood led Pakistan suffered a historic embarrassment by getting whitewashed against the likes of Bangladesh at home. It is only a matter of time before Masud takes the lead in Tests.
Along with Babar Azam, the captaincy of Shan Masood can also be lost. Shan Masood has captained Pakistan in 5 test matches and the team lost in all the matches. Shan Masood was criticized a lot in the series against Bangladesh. Now there is talk of removing them too. Rizwan can also be made Test captain in place of Masood.
Pakistan had a disappointing record in domestic Test matches in the last three years. During this period the team had to face six defeats and four draws. This also includes the 0-3 defeat against England in 2022. Now Pakistan team will play the next series against England only. A series of 3 test matches will be played between the two teams from 7th October.
Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Harris and test team co-captain Saud Shakeel have been selected as leaders of five teams in the Pakistan Champions ODI Cup.
