Shan Masood To Captain Pakistan Test Team, Shaheen Afridi To Lead T20Is As Babar Azam Sacked By PCB- Report

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly decided to sack Babar Azam as the captain from all formats. Speculations are rife that the under-fire star batsman is set to be sacked as the captain across formats after Pakistan’s poor show in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

While he led the team to the number one spot in the ICC rankings earlier this year, he could not guide them to the semifinals of the World Cup. Pakistan were one of the pre-tournament favorites but failed to live up to the expectations in an ODI World Cup once again. They finished at the fifth spot with 4 wins and 5 defeats and missed out on a semifinal spot in an ODI World Cup for the third time in a row.

Babar Azam’s captaincy was questioned throughout as not only fans but several former cricketers have also openly urged the PCB to sack him. A few former players such as Kamran Akmal have also advised the right-handed batsman to give up captaincy in order to focus more on his batting. He failed to live up to the expectations as a batsman as well. In 9 games, the right-handed batter scored 320 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of just over 80.

PCB all but sacks Babar Azam:

While the PCB is yet to give an official update on Babar Azam’s fate as the captain of the Pakistan team, Pakistani news outlet Geo News has reported that the board is all set to sack the batter as the captain. Quoting a source, the news outlet stated that the PCB would accept the batter’s resignation; otherwise, they would sack him from the post.

The report also added that Shan Masood is a strong candidate for the captain’s slot in the upcoming Test series against Australia. On the other hand, pacer Shaheen Afridi is leading the race to become the captain of the T20I side. With Pakistan’s next ODI assignment set for November next year, the PCB is likely to delay the announcement of a new ODI captain.