Babar Azam, Shan Masood to be sacked? Mohsin Naqvi breaks silence on the matter

On Saturday, September 7, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi opened up on the future of Babar Azam and Shan Masood as captains of the Pakistan National Cricket Team.

Both white-ball captain Babar Azam and red-ball skipper Shan Masood have come under fire following the downfall of Pakistan cricket. The Men In Green have been delivering awful performances across formats, which has seen the team receive heavy criticism.

Babar Azam, being the white-ball skipper, has been constantly targeted, and his poor form with the bat isn't helping the cause either. Shan Masood, on the other hand, lost a two-match home Test series against Bangladesh as captain, and this has led to the PCB officials being frustrated.

Notably, Masood has led Pakistan in 5 Tests and has lost all of them, while Babar Azam-led side failed miserably in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 and even faced a loss to the United States of America.

Amid the poor performance of the team and the captains, reports emerged on Friday, claiming that Babar and Masood are all set to be sacked ahead of Pakistan's next international assignment. The front-runner to take over the captaincy of Pakistan is Mohammad Rizwan, who is reportedly being considered to become an all-format skipper.

The decision regarding captaincy will be made after... - Mohsin Naqvi on Babar Azam, Shan Masood's sacking

On Saturday, Mohsin Naqvi spoke to the media after inspecting the ongoing construction work at the Gaddafi Stadium and said that the decision regarding the captaincy would be made after the meeting between the coaches, selectors, and PCB officials.

“The decision regarding captaincy will be made after consultation with the coaches, mentors and selection committee,” said Mohsin Naqvi.

“A workshop is scheduled for September 22, where everyone will be invited to give their suggestions, and decisions will be made afterwards,” he added.

Mohsin Naqvi further revealed that he is meeting the selectors today and said that if a wrong decision is made in Pakistan cricket he is blamed by everyone.

“I know that if there is any mistake, it falls on me. If the team does not perform well, if there is a selection mistake, or if the coach loses, it will all reflect on me,” he added.

Notably, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has called for a meeting on September 22, dubbed “Connection Camp”. In the meeting, major decisions regarding the future of Pakistan cricket will be made. The likes of Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie, along with senior players, other coaches, and PCB officials, will also attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has also confirmed that the reports of one of the Tests between Pakistan and England being shifted out of the country is false, and all the matches will be held in the country.

The first Test of the England tour of Pakistan 2024 will be played from October 7 in Multan while the second Test is set to be hosted by Karachi from October 15. Also, the third and final Test will be played in Rawalpindi from October 24.