The White ball skipper of the Pakistani cricket team, Babar Azam has been overlooked by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which has chosen not to appoint him as one of the captains for the upcoming Champions One Day Cup. Reports suggest that Babar’s leadership is under scrutiny and he is expected to be removed as Pakistan’s white-ball captain.
A new captain is likely to be named ahead of Pakistan’s upcoming tour of Australia, which includes three T20Is and three ODIs. According to the reports, the white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten has already discussed this matter with the PCB officials in July and Mohammad Rizwan is being considered to be a strong candidate to succeed Babar as the skipper for white-ball cricket and most probably he will take over the captaincy in all the three formats.
Babar Azam’s recent form, particularly in Test cricket, has been concerning. During the Test series against Bangladesh, he was dismissed for a duck and managed only 22 runs in the first Test. In the second Test, he scored 31 and 11 in his two innings, further raising questions about his performance.
Saud Shakeel, the current Test vice-captain for Pakistan, has been named as one of the captains for the Champions One Day Cup, along with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Haris and Mohammad Rizwan.
After the humiliating Test series loss against Bangladesh, there are reports that the environment of Pakistan dressing room is also tensed which will make things more challenging for the Pakistani team.
Will the fortunes of the Pakistani team change after changing the captain? What do you think?
