PAK vs NZ: Pakistan’s white ball skipper Babar Azam is very close to surpassing Imran Khan’s record of becoming the most successful skipper in the history of the Shaheens in terms of highest number of victories.
The 29 year old with 79 victories next to his name as a captain recently overtook Wasim Akram and became the second most successful skipper in the history of Pakistan Cricket following the Men in Green’s victory against New Zealand in the second T20i of the five match series.
Imran Khan, who led the Shaheens to their first and only World Cup victory in 1992 after defeating England in the final at Melbourne’s iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), is currently leading the list in terms of the captain with the highest number of wins for Pakistan with 89 victories in 187 games.
Fast bowler Wasim Akram, who is the third most successful skipper after Babar Azam and Imran Khan, captained the Shaheens in two World Cup campaigns, 1999 and 2003 respectively. The Men in Green came close winnings their second World Cup in 1999 but were defeated by the mighty Aussies in the final.
The duo of Misbah – ul – Haq and Inzamam – ul – Haq are at the fourth and the fifth spots while Sarfaraz who led Pakistan to their maiden ICC Champions Trophy victory in 2017, is the sixth most successful Pakistan skipper in terms of wins with 61 victories in 100 games next to his name.
Pakistani skippers with the highest number of wins:
1. Imran Khan – 187 games, 89 victories, 67 defeats.
2. Babar Azam – 136 games, 79 victories, 44 defeats.
3. Wasim Akram – 134 games, 78 victories, 49 defeats.
4. Misbah – ul – Haq – 151 games, 77 victories, 60 defeats.
5. Inzamam – ul – Haq – 119 games, 63 wins, 44 defeats.
Babar Azam was recently reappointed as the Pakistan’s white ball skipper on 31st March following a meeting with Mohsin Naqvi- chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Along with the newly appointed selection committee, Mohsin Naqvi saw Babar as the best possible candidate to lead Pakistan in this year’s 2024 T20 World Cup.
Post the conclusion of the 2023 ODI World Cup, Azam was removed from his captaincy duties across all formats of the game and Shaheen Shah Afridi was handed the leadership duties of the Shaheens for T20 internationals and Shan Masood became the Men in Green’s Test Skipper.
Shaheen Afridi’s only assignment as a captain was the T20i series against New Zealand in January 2024. The Men in Green lost the series by a margin of 1-4 which created doubts regarding the seamers ability as a skipper.
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CREDIT: Geosuper.Tv