Babar Azam reappointed as Pakistan captain but not in all three formats; check complete details here

Atishay Jain

• Sun • 31 Mar 2024

Pakistan white-ball captain Babar Azam. (PC: Getty)

Highlights:

Babar Azam stepped down from captaincy after the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Babar will replace Shaheen Afridi as the T20I captain of Pakistan.

In a major development that broke out on March 31 (Sunday), Babar Azam was reappointed as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that Babar Azam will be the captain of Pakistan in white-ball cricket (ODIs and T20Is). Babar will replace Shaheen Shah Afridi in the T20I format while Shan Masood will continue to lead Pakistan in Test cricket.

“Babar Azam appointed as white-ball captain. Following unanimous recommendation from the PCB’s selection committee, Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi has appointed Babar Azam as white-ball (ODI and T20I) captain of the Pakistan men's cricket team,” the PCB said in a tweet on X.

Babar Azam appointed as white-ball captain

Following unanimous recommendation from the PCB’s selection committee, Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi has appointed Babar Azam as white-ball (ODI and T20I) captain of the Pakistan men's cricket team. pic.twitter.com/ad4KLJYRMK
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 31, 2024

Babar parted ways with captaincy after 2023 ODI World Cup

Babar Azam decided to relinquish the responsibility of the Pakistan cricket team's captain following the team's poor performance in back-to-back multi-national tournaments (Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup). If reports are to be believed, the PCB decided to reinstate Babar Azam as the team's captain because they had lost faith in Shaheen Afridi.

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The board then reached out to Babar with the proposal to once again lead the team and the Pakistan superstar is reported to have put forth certain conditions before taking the job once again.

Under the leadership of Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan were comprehensively beaten in the five-match T20I series by New Zealand earlier in the year. The Men in Green could manage to win only one match while losing four matches. Thus, Afridi's record as Pakistan's captain in the shortest format of the game is abysmal, to say the least, albeit in a small sample size.

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Babar Azam's captaincy record

Babar Azam's record as Pakistan's captain in T20Is is fantastic. In 71 matches under Babar's leadership, Pakistan have won 42 and lost 23 while six contests ended in No Result (NR). Babar has a win percentage of 59.15 as captain in T20Is.

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In ODIs, Babar has led Pakistan in 43 matches out of which 26 contests ended in a victory while the Men in Green lost 15 fixtures. One game each ended in a tie and NR. Babar has a win percentage of 60.46 as captain in ODIs.

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