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 &amp; 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.



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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: <a href="https://www.icccricketschedule.com/tim-southee-steps-down-as-the-test-captain-of-new-zealand-latham-to-take-over/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.icccricketschedule.com/tim-southee-steps-down-as-the-test-captain-of-new-zealand-latham-to-take-over/">Tim Southee steps-down as the test-captain of New Zealand, Latham to take over&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</a>



For more information, visit the official websites of<a href="https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/pakistan-captain-steps-down-with-immediate-effect" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/pakistan-captain-steps-down-with-immediate-effect"> ICC </a>and<a href="https://www.pcb.com.pk/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.pcb.com.pk/"> Pakistan Cricket</a>.

Babar Azam relinquishes Pakistan's white-ball captaincy duties for the 2nd time

babar-azam-relinquishes-pakistans-white-ball-captaincy-duties-for-the-2nd-time

Fakhar Zaman: Pakistan's explosive batsman Fakhar Zaman continues to get scrutinised and his recent-actions could potentially lead to him getting dropped from Pakistan's One Day International squad for the upcoming limited-overs tour of Australia.



Earlier this month, the Southpaw wrote a supportive tweet for Babar Azam on his X handle after the former Pakistani skipper was dropped from the Playing XI for the 2nd Test-Match versus England.



In what proved to be a viral-tweet, Zaman criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and questioned the decision-making of the Cricket Governing Body. However, the PCB later sent the 34-year-old a show-cause notice to clarify his actions, indicating that the board was not pleased with his public criticism.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">More issues for Fakhar Zaman prior to the Australia tour</h2>



In addition to Fakhar Zaman's issues with the PCB over the freshly issued show-cause notice, the fiery Pakistani batsman also appears to be dealing with knee related issues. The 34-year-old recently wasn't able to pass his fitness-test upon returning from the recently concluded 2024 season of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).



According to a news report of Cricket Pakistan, the left handed batter was asked to complete a two-kilometre run in eight minutes but he was unable to finish the task.



While multiple news reports suggest that Zaman is dealing with his knee-related problems, he recently participated in Pakistan Television Team's Cup Grade - l (one-day) match, thus putting further strain on his knee and increasing the risk of damage.



Fakhar Zaman apparently made some direct comments on PCB's stringent new rules of issuing No Objection Certificates (NOC) to players for participation in international T20 leagues during a connection camp not too long ago.



While supporters and Cricket Experts consider the 34-year-old as a potential replacement of Babar as the skipper of Pakistan in the limited-overs formats, as of now, even the spot of Zaman in the white-ball squads of the Green Shirts is not a guarantee and he might end up getting dropped for the upcoming Australian tour.



The Shaheens will be travelling to Australia in November of this year to participate in a three match One-Day International Series and a three-match T20 International series as well.



Also Read: <a href="https://www.icccricketschedule.com/icc-mens-test-team-rankings-latest-updated-after-ind-vs-nz-1st-test/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.icccricketschedule.com/icc-mens-test-team-rankings-latest-updated-after-ind-vs-nz-1st-test/">ICC Men?s Test Team Rankings Latest Updated After IND vs NZ 1st Test</a>



For more information, visit the official website of <a href="https://www.pcb.com.pk/">Pakistan Cricket</a> and <a href="https://www.icc-cricket.com/news">ICC</a>

PCB set to drop Fakhar Zaman from ODI Squad vs Australia following his support towards Babar Azam - Report

pcb-set-to-drop-fakhar-zaman-from-odi-squad-vs-australia-following-his-support-towards-babar-azam-report

The South African Men's National Cricket Team, under the leadership of Temba Bavuma became the first team to secure the 2023-25 WTC cycle Final berth as they triumphed over Shan Masood-led Pakistan in the first Test-Match at Centurion on Sunday, 29th of December. 
After struggling at 99-8 in the run chase of 148 runs, the home side cross the finish line thanks to a magnificent partnership of the ninth-wicket between tailenders Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada. 
The win in the Centurion Test-Match over the Shaheens has steered the Proteas to 88 points in 11 encounters in the current WTC cycle, giving a significant boost to their PCT to 66.67 ahead of the PCT of the Mighty Australians i.e 58.89 and Team India's 55.89 PCT. Both of those teams are currently fighting it out against each other in the ongoing 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series which is currently tied at 1-1.
With the Proteas confirming their ticket to the WTC Final, which will be held at the iconic Lord's Cricket Stadium between the 11th of June to 15th of June of 2025, only Australia and the Indian Team are the only two realistic contenders fighting it out versus each other secure the other vacant final spot. 
The Temba Bavuma-led team became just the fourth team to qualify for the WTC final after Team India (2021&amp; 2023), Reigning Champions Australia (2023) and inaugural-winners New Zealand, who lifted the WTC Test Mace in 2021 under the captaincy of Kane Williamson. 
The Proteas kicked off their 2023-25 WTC campaign with a 1-1 home Test-Series draw versus the Men in Blue before falling to a 2-0 defeat versus the Kiwis in February of this year. Temba Bavum and CO then secured two consecutive series wins over the Windies and the Bangladeshi Tigers before securing a easy 2-0 home series win versus Sri Lanka earlier this month
This defeat versus South Africa was Pakistan's seventh one in the current WTC cycle in 11 participated emcounters and this defeat meant they have dropped down to the eighth position below Asian-rivals Bangladesh in the overall WTC Standings. The 2nd and final Test-Match between both the teams will be played in the city of Cape Town from the 3rd of January, 2025.
<h2>Updated WTC Points-table:</h2>
<table class="table cb-srs-pnts" style="width: 99.5122%; height: 383.359px;">
<thead>
<tr class="cb-srs-gray-strip " style="height: 10px;">
<td class=" cb-srs-pnts-th text-center" style="width: 7.18033%;" title="Position">Pos</td>
<td style="width: 2.11186%;"> </td>
<td class=" cb-srs-pnts-th text-left" style="width: 20.6963%;" title="Team">Team</td>
<td class=" cb-srs-pnts-th" style="width: 13.7271%;" title="Matches Played">Matches</td>
<td class=" cb-srs-pnts-th" style="width: 8.86982%;" title="Matches Won">Won</td>
<td class=" cb-srs-pnts-th" style="width: 8.02508%;" title="Matches Lost">Lost</td>
<td class=" cb-srs-pnts-th" style="width: 10.9817%;" title="Matches Drawn">Drawn</td>
<td class=" cb-srs-pnts-th" style="width: 6.54677%;" title="Matches Abandonded">NR</td>
<td class=" cb-srs-pnts-th" style="width: 10.7705%;" title="Total Points">Points</td>
<td class=" cb-srs-pnts-th" style="width: 11.1929%;" title="Percentage of Points">PCT</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 58.5938px;">
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 7.18033%;">1</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 2.11186%;"> </td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-left" style="width: 20.6963%;">South Africa</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 13.7271%;">11</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.86982%;">7</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.02508%;">3</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.9817%;">1</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 6.54677%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.7705%;">88</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 11.1929%;">66.670</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 36.1953px;">
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 7.18033%;">2</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 2.11186%;"> </td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-left" style="width: 20.6963%;">Australia</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 13.7271%;">15</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.86982%;">9</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.02508%;">4</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.9817%;">2</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 6.54677%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.7705%;">106</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 11.1929%;">58.890</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 36.1953px;">
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 7.18033%;">3</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 2.11186%;"> </td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-left" style="width: 20.6963%;">India</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 13.7271%;">17</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.86982%;">9</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.02508%;">6</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.9817%;">2</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 6.54677%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.7705%;">114</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 11.1929%;">55.880</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 58.5938px;">
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 7.18033%;">4</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 2.11186%;"> </td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-left" style="width: 20.6963%;">New Zealand</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 13.7271%;">14</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.86982%;">7</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.02508%;">7</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.9817%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 6.54677%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.7705%;">81</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 11.1929%;">48.210</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 36.1953px;">
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 7.18033%;">5</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 2.11186%;"> </td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-left" style="width: 20.6963%;">Sri Lanka</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 13.7271%;">11</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.86982%;">5</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.02508%;">6</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.9817%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 6.54677%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.7705%;">60</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 11.1929%;">45.450</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 36.1953px;">
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 7.18033%;">6</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 2.11186%;"> </td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-left" style="width: 20.6963%;">England</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 13.7271%;">22</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.86982%;">11</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.02508%;">10</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.9817%;">1</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 6.54677%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.7705%;">114</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 11.1929%;">43.180</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 36.1953px;">
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 7.18033%;">7</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 2.11186%;"> </td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-left" style="width: 20.6963%;">Bangladesh</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 13.7271%;">12</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.86982%;">4</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.02508%;">8</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.9817%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 6.54677%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.7705%;">45</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 11.1929%;">31.250</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 36.1953px;">
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 7.18033%;">8</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-center" style="width: 2.11186%;"></td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td text-left" style="width: 20.6963%; text-align: left;">Pakistan</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 13.7271%;">11</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.86982%;">4</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 8.02508%;">7</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.9817%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 6.54677%;">0</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 10.7705%;">40</td>
<td class="cb-srs-pnts-td" style="width: 11.1929%;">30.300</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Marco Jansen (L) and Kagiso Rabada (R) of South Africa held their nerve and helped their team secure a victory over Pakistan in Centurion  | Image: Getty Images

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pakistan mens national cricket team