Former Men in Green opener Salman Butt believes Shan Masood is the best choice to replace Babr Azam as team captain. The former cricketer believes Masood should replace Azam as skipper in all formats:
“There is some fuss because despite having skill, players have not been able to execute. There is someone who doesn’t have any strategy for planning but still has a lot of attitude. To silence that attitude, I would definitely make Shan Masood the captain,” Butt said.
There are growing calls to remove Babar Azam as Pakistan’s team captain after a horrible run of results in recent years.
Younis Khan Suggests a Different Candidate for Team Pakistan Captain
Former Pakistan cricketer Younis Khan believes Fakhar Zaman could be an excellent choice to replace Babar Azam:
“Who is that one player in the side who is leaving his opening slot and batting down at four or five or six? Who is sacrificing his place? Fakhar Zaman! Why won’t you make him the captain?” Khan said.
Who Reinstated Babar Azam as White-Ball Cricket Captain?
Mohsin Naqvi made the reinstatement of Babar Azam one of his first moves as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman. PCB chief Naqvi removed Shaheen Afridi as skipper after a string of poor results, favouring the leadership of Azam instead.
However, Naqvi’s insistence on Azam as captain has not provided the expected results. Pakistan has had to experience several underwhelming campaigns under Azam’s captaincy in recent months. Calls for his removal grew louder when Pakistan crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2024 in unceremonious fashion.
Shahid Afridi on Babar Azam as Team Pakistan Captain
Former Team Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi held nothing back as he took apart Babar Azam’s captaincy. The retired cricketer spoke on Azam’s woes as captain in a long interview after Pakistan’s exit from the T20 WC 2024.
Poor decision-making
“Babar took horrible decisions as a captain even before the T20 World Cup. There were many matches,” said the former Pakistan skipper.
Afridi faulted Azam’s decision-making on several occasions at the T20 World Cup. The retired Men in Green veteran made an example of Azam’s poor decision-making when Pakistan faced the USA:
“Coming to the World Cup, he should not have sent Iftikhar [Ahmed] to face the bowler in the Super Over [against the USA]. He should have been at the non-striker’s end. The captain takes all these decisions,” Afridi added.
He also found issues with the introduction of Shadab Khan ahead of Azam during the game’s Super Over:
“We consider Azam Khan a powerful hitter. But, Shadab Khan was sent in the Super Over,” he said.
Hindered performance post-captaincy
Shahid Afridi believes that Babar Azam should never have accepted the captaincy role for Pakistan. He thinks Azam would be better off without the burdens of leading a currently-divided team in regional and international tournaments:
“Babar has been unable to lead the team as he should have. Let me repeat this. There has never been a cricketer like Babar Azam in Pakistan. Pakistan have never had such a consistent player before,”
“But, he has been given enough chances to become better as a captain. He hasn’t been able to do that. If he had not accepted captaincy, he would have enjoyed his cricket and his batting much more,”
Insider Source Alleges Division Harming Pakistan Team Captains
A source at the PTI has alleged that Pakistan’s senior team suffers from deep divisions within its ranks. The insider alleges that Team Pakistan is currently split in three with Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Muhammad Rizwan factions:
“There are three groups in the team, one led by Babar Azam, the second one by Shaheen Afridi and the third one by Muhammad Rizwan. Add to this mix the return of seniors like Muhammad Aamir and Imad Wasim, and the recipe was ready for a World Cup disaster,” the source said.
The unnamed source also faulted returns of Imad Wasim and Muhammad Amir to Pakistan’s T20 World Cup fold.
“The return of Imad and Amir added to the confusion as it was difficult for Babar to get any worthwhile performances from both of them as they had not played top-level domestic or international cricket for a long while now except in franchise-based leagues,” the insider added.
Who Will Mohsin Naqvi Appoint as the Next Pakistan T20 Captain?
The PCB chair is set to make consultations with essential stakeholders in Pakistan’s team before picking another T20 skipper. Some reports suggest that Naqvi plans to meet Gary Kirsten (Pakistan head coach) and ex-cricketers before making his next decision.
Potential candidates for the Pakistan T20 captain’s role include Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf, and Shan Masood. Former skipper Shaheen Afridi and current captain Babar Azam seem to be out of the run-in this time around.
