Real Reason revealed behind Babar Azam's shocking resignation as Pakistan white-ball captain

In a shocking turn of events, star batter Babar Azam has decided to resign as the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team for white-ball formats. Babar Azam's resignation surprised many in the cricketing community, and the actual reason behind his decision to leave captaincy has been revealed.

Babar Azam announced his resignation as captain of Pakistan's ODI and T20I teams through a social media post. This is the second time the ace batter has relinquished Pakistan’s captaincy.

There was speculation that Babar was sacked for the team's disappointing performance in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Babar Azam Sacked From Pakistan's White-Ball Captaincy?

However, the rumors related to Babar's sacking are not hundred percent true as white-ball coach Gary Kirsten wanted him to remain the ODI leader.

However, Kirsten has been looking for a change in T20I captaincy after the Men in Green's group stage exit during the recent ICC T20 tournament.

As per Cricket Pakistan, Gary Kirsten met with Babar in July to discuss his T20 World Cup 2024 report and captaincy changes.

The report added that there was a communication gap between Babar and the Pakistan Cricket Board, and he was not consulted on key decisions after the World Cup.

"During a meeting in July, Kirsten presented his T20 World Cup report and discussed captaincy changes with Babar Azam. Despite Kirsten's continued efforts to persuade Babar to lead the ODI team, the batter was not convinced due to feelings of distance from the players and a sense of undervaluation," reported Cricket Pakistan.

"Sources indicate that after the World Cup, there was a lack of communication between Babar Azam and the cricket board. The cricketer was not involved in any consultation processes during this time. Before announcing his resignation, Babar informed a senior board official of his decision," added Cricket Pakistan.

Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has become a leading candidate to take over as the captain of the white-ball team. The report added that the discussions regarding team selection with Rizwan are already in progress. Kirsten's long-term vision for the Pakistan cricket team includes a new T20 captain.

Babar Azam Had Stepped Down From Captaincy After ODI World Cup 2023

Pakistan has not secured any major tournament victories since Babar became captain in 2019.

The Men in Green were eliminated in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup last year after a narrow two-wicket loss to Sri Lanka. They failed to advance to the knockout stage of the ODI World Cup 2023 in India.

The 29-year-old stepped down as captain for all formats after the ODI World Cup. Shaheen Shah Afridi took over as T20I captain but he was removed following a 4-1 series defeat to New Zealand.

Babar was then reinstated as the white-ball captain, with Shan Masood continuing as the Test captain.

Also read: IND vs NZ: Tim Southee quits as New Zealand Test captain; replacement locked in