Babar Azam has officially stepped down as Pakistan’s white-ball cricket captain for the second time in just 11 months, citing the need to reduce his workload and concentrate on enhancing his personal performance. This decision follows a challenging period for the national team, marked by disappointing outcomes in key tournaments.
Babar initially resigned from his captaincy across all formats after Pakistan’s failure to progress beyond the group stage in the ICC Cricket World Cup in India last year. He returned to lead the white-ball formats in March, preparing for the ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies, where Pakistan once again struggled, failing to advance past the initial group stage.
Under Babar’s leadership during this second stint, Pakistan managed to win only six out of 13 T20 International matches. Since the 2023 World Cup, the team has not played any One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Shaheen Shah Afridi briefly captained the T20 side but was removed from the role following a 4-1 series defeat to New Zealand.
Despite a difficult tenure, Babar was reappointed as white-ball captain by Mohsin Naqvi, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in March. However, the team only secured a bilateral series win against Ireland (2-1) under his leadership. They drew a home T20 series against New Zealand 2-2 and suffered a 2-0 loss to England shortly before the T20 World Cup, where they faced a significant upset at the hands of the host nation, the USA.
Amidst this backdrop, Babar has experienced a decline in batting form, failing to score a fifty in his last 10 international innings. However, he has been included in Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against England, commencing on October 7 in Multan.
Test captain Shan Masood expressed his support for Babar, emphasizing his talent and potential to regain form. “We all know Babar is one of the top batters in the world, and despite not scoring big runs, the good thing is that he is not out of form. We have to back him,” Masood stated at a pre-series news conference.
The PCB is anticipated to announce a new captain after the Test series, as Pakistan prepares for their next white-ball tour against the reigning 50-over world champions, Australia, next month.
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