Babar Azam becomes Pakistan captain again, Shaheen Afridi ripped off, Shan Masood next in line?

Star Pakistan batter Babar Azam has been re-appointed as the captain of the National team’s white-ball team. From now on, Babar will be leading the ODI and T20I teams, replacing left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi, who was appointed as captain of the shortest format only 2 months ago. This means that Babar will be captaining the Green Army when they welcome New Zealand for a 5-match home T20I series on home soil.

Moreover, Babar Azam will be captaining Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup for the 3rd time in a row. Reports were anyways circulating about his re-appointment and this development was confirmed earlier today by the Pakistan Cricket Board through a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“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.” – PCB wrote on X.

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. p<!---->i<!---->c<!---->.<!---->t<!---->w<!---->i<!---->t<!---->t<!---->e<!---->r<!---->.<!---->c<!---->o<!---->m<!---->/<!---->a<!---->d<!---->4<!---->K<!---->L<!---->J<!---->Y<!---->R<!---->M<!---->K

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) M<!---->a<!---->r<!---->c<!---->h<!----> <!---->3<!---->1<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

In a video posted by the board, new Chairman Mohsin Naqvi can be seen sitting along and discussing something with Babar Azam. Since the video had no sound, it could not be found out as to what they were talking about but if we try to decode it, then they might be talking about the way forward for the national team.

Since reaching the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, the team have endured some tough results during major bilateral series as well as international events. While they remain a dominant force on home soil, the Green Army’s performance on foreign conditions have been questionable. It was under Babar Azam’s captaincy that Pakistan endured a very tough outing in the ICC Cricket World Cup last year in India.

The Asians had failed to reach the knockout rounds for the 3rd edition in a row as they finished 5th in the points table. It was only after the 50-over WC that Babar Azam himself stepped down from captaincy across formats which he confirmed with an Instagram post on 15th of November.

“Today, I am stepping down as the captain of the Pakistan in all formats. Its a difficult decision but I feel it is a right time for the call. I will continue to represent Pakistan as a player. I am here to support the new captain and the team with my experience and dedication.” – Babar had wrote on Instagram.

Babar Azam to start captaincy from the series against New Zealand

Meanwhile, Babar’s captaincy tenure begins when Pakistan host New Zealand for their upcoming 5-match T20I series on home conditions. This series will serve as a build series for the T20 World Cup in June. After this series, Pakistan will fly over to Ireland for a 3-match T20I series and then to England for a 4-match series in the same format.