After having lots of meetings with the players and coaching staff, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced their new skipper for the white-ball cricket. Previously, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood were leading the T20I and ODI sides but PCB named Babar Azam as their new skipper in both T20Is and ODIs after Shaheen Afridi failed to perform in the recent series and also in the PSL 2024, where his team Lahore Qalandars finished the tournament at the bottom of the points table.
In a surprising turn of events, Babar Azam, who stepped down as skipper of the Pakistan National Cricket team from all three formats now, reappointed as a captain of Pakistan’s T20I & ODI teams. The ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2024 is scheduled to start on June 01, 2024, and PCB wants their best team in the tournament.
However few months back, Shaheen Shah Afridi was appointed the captain of Pakistan Men’s T20I team, this decision came after Pakistan had a poor performance in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023.
But Shaheen lost a five-match T20I series against New Zealand by 4-1. He was also leading Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 but he did a poor job there too and failed to qualify for the PSL 2024 Playoffs. Therefore, PCB went with their most experienced and successful captain for the White-ball cricket, especially for the T20 World Cup 2024.
Pakistan’s strategy behind removing Shaheen as a Captain and reappointing Babar Azam:
Babar’s reinstatement marks a significant shift in the PCB’s strategy for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Mohd. Rizwan was also the one of main contenders to get the captaincy as his team Multan Sultans won the PSL 2024 but Babar Azam has numerous victories in white-ball cricket and he led the team quite better than others.
Reasons for Babar’s reappointment:
- Excellent track record: Under the leadership of Babar Azam, the Pakistan National Cricket team has performed phenomenally in many tournaments however they failed to give their best in the ODI World Cup 2023 but one tournament can’t judge any player or captain.
- Experience: Before stepping down as skipper, Babar Azam was leading Pakistan in all three formats for a long time and he indeed quite succeeded in it. Babar made good decisions in the pressure situations for his team and also led them to victory in some games.
- Shaheen’s Work-load Management: After Shaheen Shah Afridi was appointed as skipper of Pakistan Men’s T20I team, Shaheen’s performance declined due to the lots of captaincy pressure. Now, Babar Azam is the new captain of Pakistan’s T20I team, Shaheen can focus more on his bowling ahead of the ICC tournament.
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