Babar Azam resigns as Pakistan’s captain from all 3 formats, PCB announces new captains
Babar has captained Pakistan from October 2019, taking to no 1 in ODI’s in May this year
Pakistan cricketer Babar Azam has announced that he is resigning as the team’s captain from all the three formats, four days after Pakistan was eliminated from the World Cup. Pak had lost five out of their nine games, including a shock defeat from Afghanistan which casted doubt on the management and the leadership. This announcement comes in days after reports came in saying that the PCB is considering sacking all the foreign coaches.
“Today, I am stepping down as captain of Pakistan from all formats. It’s a difficult decision but I feel this is right time for this call,” Babar wrote in his statement, posted on X. “I will continue to represent Pak as a player in all three formats. I am here to support the new captain and the team with my experience and dedication. I want to express my sincere thanks to Pak Cricket Board for entrusting me with this significant responsibility, he added. “I vividly remember the moment when I received the call from the PCB to lead Pak in 2019. Over the past four years, I’ve experienced many highs and lows on and off the field,” said Azam. But I wholeheartedly and passionately aimed to maintain Pakistan’s pride and respect in the cricket world.”
Babar Azam has resigned as a result of harsh criticism for his way of leadership and team selection, which many players accused was based on favouritism. Players accused that Babar had a coterie of preferred players such as Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan to name the least. It was also accused that the roster for the World Cup was selected at the request of former chairman Inzamam-ul-Haq and skipper Babar Azam.
Babar Azam has now been replaced by Shan Masood who will take over the test captaincy of the Pakistani team for their upcoming three match test series in Australia. The Pakistan Cricket Board has also confirmed that Shaheen Afridi will take over as captain for the Pakistani T-20 side.
Ranked as the number one batsman before the World Cup, Babar Azam failed to score big runs in the World Cup in India, finishing with 320 without a century over nine games Azam led Pakistan in 20 Tests, winning ten, losing six and drawing the other four. In 43 ODIs, Pakistan won 26, losing 16 with one no result. In the shortest format, Azam led Pakistan to the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in 2021 and a runners-up finish a year later. In 71 T20Is, he enjoyed 41 wins, 23 losses with seven no results.
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