Babar Azam resigns: Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood handed captaincy duties of Pakistan cricket team

Add as a preferred source on Google

Following the much-publicised resignation of Babar Azam as the Pakistan captain in all three formats, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed batter Shan Masood as the Test captain while Shaheen Afridi was named the T20I captain.

Babar Azam made the announcement that he was leaving his position as Pakistan's captain for all formats a few hours earlier. Beginning in October 2019, Azam captained Pakistan in all three formats. In May, he helped the team achieve its first-ever World No. 1 rating in the ICC One Day International (ODI) rankings.

Four days after his team was ousted from the World Cup, Babar Azam announced his resignation as captain of Pakistan in all formats. Babar's leadership was called into question when Pakistan lost five of their nine games, including a shocking loss to Afghanistan.

Among other candidates in the running for the Test captain Sarfaraz Ahmed reportedly was considered but associates close to him advised against taking on the role, citing the challenging nature of the Australia Test tour for a new captain.

Imad Wasim, who is presently undergoing training at the National Cricket Academy, was also possibly considered. He returned to the national team earlier putting on strong performances in PSL 8, Imad returned to the T20I team and is now a regular member.

Additionally, he performed admirably for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the most recent CPL in the West Indies, which will host the next T20 World Cup. He will shortly be meeting with the PCB chief as well.

Meanwhile Babar Azam in his heartfelt message on X, formerly Twitter, said he will continue to play in all three formats for Pakistan while vowing to give his full support to the new captain.

"I will continue to represent Pakistan as a player in all three formats. I am here to support the new captain and the team with my experience and dedication. I want to express my sincere thanks to the Pakistan Cricket Board for entrusting me with this significant responsibility, he added.