Babar Azam Reappointed as Pakistan White Ball Captain, Shaheen Afridi Axed

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Babar Azam has been reinstated as Pakistan's White Ball captain, as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Sunday (March 31).

Babar Azam was left out as Pakistan captain after the World Cup 2023. Pakistan failed to qualify for the semifinals and the Pakistan player stepped down from captaincy across all formats.

But a unanimous decision from the selection committee and PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi has handed the coveted batter another opportunity at captaining his country.

"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," a statement from PCB read.

Shaheen Afridi was named as the T20I captain while Shan Masood was appointed as the Test captain after Babar stepped down. PCB didn't name any ODI captain as the team hasn't played any 50-over match since the World Cup.

But within three months of that, Afridi has been removed from his position and Babar will be leading the Pakistan team again. The recent developments in Pakistan angeled at a potential change.

There were meetings with Babar which didn't involve current T20I captain Shaheen Afridi, which all were indicating a possible return for Babar at the helm. And now it has been confirmed by the apex body of Pakistan cricket.

Babar Azam Record as Pakistan Captain

Babar Azam has captained Pakistan in 20 Tests and have won 10 matches with 6 losses. In ODIs, Babar Azam has captained Pakistan 42 times with 26 wins and 14 losses. When it comes to T20Is, Babar led his country in 71 matches with 42 wins and 23 losses.

Babar's first assignment as being the Pakistan T20I captain would be to showcase a better outing in the upcoming T20I World Cup which is set to take place in June in the West Indies and USA.