The Pakistan Cricket Board is preparing to reappoint Babar Azam as Pakistan’s captain ahead of the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
PCB set to Reappoint Babar Azam as Captain
In a recent development, it is said that PCB is considering reappointing Babar Azam as captain for the T20 squad to play in the T20 World Cup which is set to be hosted by the USA and West Indies.
However, it is reported that Babar Azam hesitates to accept captaincy as he requests clarifications from the board on the issues before resuming his captaincy career.
Babar Azam has stepped down from captaincy following their side’s poor performance in ODI World Cup 2023 in India. This led to Shaheen Afridi being appointed as the T20 captain.
His appointment was after his leadership prowess in the PSL league where he led Lahore Qalandars to title in the 2021 and 2023 seasons. But his strategies did not reflect in the national side during their five-match T20I series on Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand.
Initially, Mohammad Rizwan was the leading candidate to replace Shaheen. However recent developments proved Babar Azam as the primary candidate for the leadership role.
After stepping down from red ball captaincy, Babar Azam stepped down from white ball also which made Shan Masood Pakistan Test captain.
But the side suffered a sweeping defeat 3-0 during the test series on Pakistan’s tour of Australia. On that occasion, there was a change in PCB’s leadership when Mohsin Naqvi was named as PCB chairman.
During his recent press conference, Naqvi hinted about the change in T20 captaincy. Also, Mohammad Amir has reversed his retirement decision to play in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
But the reappointment will be a concern to the return of Imad and Mohammad Amir as they previously criticised Babar Azam’s captaincy skills and batting in the shorter format.
Coming to the tournament, the Men’s T20 World Cup is set to begin on June 02 with the United States and Canada playing in the first match of the campaign.
The tournament will be hosting a match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan which is set to be played on June 09 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
Being in group A, Pakistan will be playing their first match of the tournament against the United States on June 06 at Grand Prairie Stadium.
