Babar Azam relinquishes Pakistan’s white-ball captaincy duties for the 2nd time: Pakistan Men’s National Cricket Team’s star batsman, Babar Azam, on Wednesday, announced his decision to step-down as the white-ball skipper of the National-Team.
The 29-year-old shared the announcement on his social-media handles, expressing his desire to play as a regular player.
In a heartfelt-note, Babar wrote, “I have important news to share with all of you today. I have decided to step-down as the skipper of the Pakistan men’s National cricket team, effective as of last month when I notified the PCB and the Team-Management.
“It has been a pleasure to lead this team, but it’s time for me to step-down and focus on my career as a regular player.”
“By stepping down as the captain of Pakistan, I will gain more clarity going forward and focus more energy on my playing-career and personal-growth.”
“I’m thankful for your continuous backing and trust in me,” he said, thanking the fans for their unwavering support. To me, your happiness has meant the world.”
“I am proud of our team’s success and I am excited to contribute in the best-possible manner as a player for the National-Team.
“Thank-You for all the love & support,” Azam concluded.
Azam’s decision follows a chaotic period of the Green Shirts leadership. Previously, the 29-year-old had resigned as the full-time skipper of the Shaheens during the tenure of Zaka Ashraf as the chairman of PCB.
At that point of time, Shaheen Shah Afridi was handed over the captaincy reins of the T20 International team while Shan Masood was selected as the captain of the Test-Team.
Following the Green Shirts’ disappointing performance in the shortest format of the game under the captaincy of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Azam was re-appointed as the limited-overs skipper ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 under Mohsin Naqvi, the current chairman of PCB.
Azam’s return as a captain was not able to produce positive results for Pakistan. Under his captaincy, the Shaheens won the T20 International series versus Ireland by a margin of 2-1 but against tougher opposition teams, they struggled a lot, drawing the five-match T20 International series versus a second-string New Zealand team 2-2 and a 0-2 series defeat versus England ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan’s failure to qualify for the Super-8 stage of the competition, following their shocking defeat versus co-hosts United States of America and fierce-rivals India, made matters even more worse for the 29-year-old.
Also Read: Tim Southee steps-down as the test-captain of New Zealand, Latham to take over
For more information, visit the official websites of ICC and Pakistan Cricket.
