Babar Azam steps down from the captaincy role in all formats for the Pakistan cricket team. The PCB has indicated that it extended an offer for him to continue as the test captain.
Babar Azam has resigned from his position as captain of the Pakistan cricket team following their inability to progress beyond the group stage in the Cricket World Cup.
In a statement on Wednesday, the batsman announced, “Today, I am stepping down as the captain of Pakistan in all formats. It’s a difficult decision, but I feel it is the right time for this call. I will continue to represent Pakistan as a player in all three formats.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed Shan Masood as the new test captain, confirming that the left-handed opener will lead the team through the World Test Championship cycle of 2023-25. Masood’s inaugural assignment will be Pakistan’s tour to Australia next month, featuring three test matches.
Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was named T20 captain, with Pakistan scheduled to play a five-match T20 series in New Zealand in January following the Australia tour. The PCB also mentioned that they will announce the new ODI skipper in due course.
Babar expressed gratitude to the PCB for choosing him as the all-format captain four years ago and pledged to support the new captain and the team with his experience and dedication.
Having scored 320 runs in nine World Cup games at an average of 40 in the ongoing edition, Babar played a key role, although Pakistan fell short of the semifinals. Pakistan won four out of nine games, finishing fifth.
“I vividly remember the moment when I received the call from PCB to lead Pakistan in 2019,” Babar said. “Over the past four years, I’ve experienced many highs and lows on and off the field, but I wholeheartedly and passionately aimed to maintain Pakistan’s pride and respect in the cricket world.”
Babar met with the chairman of the PCB managing committee, Zaka Ashraf, in Lahore on Wednesday to discuss the team’s performance at the World Cup.
The PCB stated in a release that Babar had been asked to continue as test captain “so that he could focus on one format,” but he decided against this.
“Babar is truly a world-class player, and we want him to continue to thrive as a player,” Ashraf said. “He is one of the best batters Pakistan has ever produced.”
Ashraf expressed hope that without the “additional burden of captaincy,” Babar could focus more on his performances to reach even greater heights.
During Babar’s captaincy, Pakistan rose to No. 1 in the ODI rankings, but there was a sharp decline in the team’s performance before the World Cup in India.
Pakistan couldn’t qualify for the Asia Cup final despite reaching the Super 4 stage of the tournament.
In the absence of injured fast bowler Naseem Shah, Pakistan struggled in the World Cup too, losing to rival India, Australia, Afghanistan, South Africa, and England, while its four victories came against Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Bangladesh, and New Zealand.
Pakistan’s below-par performance in the World Cup led many former test cricketers, including Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal, to criticize Babar’s captaincy.
However, Babar’s teammate Mohammad Rizwan lauded Babar’s efforts as skipper.
“You are definitely one of the greatest batsmen Pakistan has ever seen,” Rizwan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Your honesty, love, integrity, thoughts, and efforts for Pakistan as the captain are the things to look up to. May you continue to shine for Pakistan.”
The PCB announced plans to change the entire coaching staff for the upcoming tours of Australia and New Zealand. Pakistan fast bowling coach Morne Morkel resigned Monday with one month left on his six-month contract.
Director of cricket Mickey Arthur will continue to work at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.
