New Delhi. After the poor performance in the World Cup 2023, most of the players, including captain Babar Azam, have reached Pakistan. After a poor performance in the ICC tournament, it is believed that Babar may resign from the captaincy. But he is not going to step down yet. A decision in this regard may be taken after a meeting with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) this week. Babar’s family welcomed him at the Lahore airport. The team managed to win only 4 matches in the tournament, while losing 5. Pakistan is scheduled to tour Australia and New Zealand in December and January. If the PCB captain changes, any of Shan Masood, Sarfaraz Ahmed and fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi could get the responsibility.
According to news agency PTI, Babar Azam will soon meet PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf and after the meeting will decide on the captaincy of all formats. The board can also appoint different captains for white ball and red ball. Babar was made captain of the ODI and T20 team for the first time in 2019. In 2021, he got the Test captaincy and started leading the team in all three formats. It is known that Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are considered good friends. On the other hand, Shan Masood and Sarfraz Ahmed are currently out of the ODI squad.
The performance in the ICC tournament was not good
Under the captaincy of Babar Azam, the Pakistan team reached the semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup, while the team reached the finals of the T20 World Cup held in 2022. But the team lost to England in the final. Babar Azam & Co also failed to perform well in 2 consecutive Asia Cups. The Pakistan team could not even reach the final of the World Test Championship.
29-year-old Babar Azam has played 43 ODIs so far as captain. Won 25 matches, while losing 15. He is Pakistan’s most successful captain in T20 Internationals. Babar has led Pakistan to victory in 42 out of 71 matches as captain. 23 has been defeated. Babar Azam has also led the Pakistan team in 20 Tests. Won 10 Tests and lost 6. Now it remains to be seen what decision is taken regarding his captaincy in the coming days.
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Tags: Babar Azam, pcb, Shaheen Afridi, World Cup 2023
First published: November 13, 2023, 23:50 IST