Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi reacted strongly and voiced his candid opinion on the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) decision to reinstate Babar Azam as the country's white-ball captain. Afridi also opined on the cricket board's decision to strip his son-in-law Shaheen Afridi of the T20I captaincy after just one series. Afridi took to X (formerly Twitter) and asserted that he was surprised by PCB's decision to once again reinstate Babar rather than promote Mohammad Rizwan.
"I am surprised by the decision by very experienced cricketers in the selection committee. I still believe that if change was necessary than Rizwan was the best choice! But since now the decision has been made I offer my full support and best wishes to team Pakistan and Babar Azam," Afridi wrote on X.
PCB puts faith in Babar Azam
On March 31, the PCB announced its decision to reappoint Babar Azam as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team in white-ball cricket. As a result, Shaheen Afridi lost his title as T20I captain of Pakistan while Shan Masood kept his title of being the Pakistan skipper in red-ball 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," PCB said in a tweet on March 31.
Babar Azam's record as Pakistan captain
Under Babar Azam's captaincy, Pakistan has achieved remarkable success in T20Is, boasting a record of 42 victories and 23 defeats out of 71 matches, with six matches concluding with no result. This translates to a winning percentage of 59.15 for Babar in T20Is.
In the ODI format, Babar has guided Pakistan through 43 matches, securing wins in 26 of those encounters, while facing defeats in 15 matches. Additionally, there was one match each that ended in a tie and with no result. This gives Babar a winning percentage of 60.46 as the ODI captain for Pakistan.
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