Pakistan Cricket Board has reportedly offered the white-ball captaincy to former skipper Babar Azam and the new T20I skipper Shaheen Afridi is now set to see an early end to his tenure. Babar stepped down from the role of the Pakistan skipper from all three formats after the team's poor show at the ODI World Cup 2023.
According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, PCB has offered Babar the role again but the star batter has put up a demand of being the all-format skipper and not only in the limited-overs cricket. Babar was succeeded by Shaheen in the T20I format, while Shan Masood was named the Test captain. However, the Men in Green did not appoint an ODI captain as the format was at least a priority.
Shaheen's role came under doubt when the board chief Mohsin Naqvi did not back him for the role in future. "Even I don't know who the captain will be. Whether Shaheen continues or a new captain comes in will be determined after the fitness camp (starting on Monday). There are a number of technical factors we will consider, the details of which I do not want to go into. We want a long-term solution, whether it's Shaheen or a new man. And then we intend to stick by that man, instead of just changing a captain just because you lose a match or captain," Naqvi had said earlier.
Shaheen has led Pakistan in only one T20I series and they lost it by 1-4 to New Zealand. He was also the captain of Lahore Qalandars, who won only one out of ten matches in the PSL 2024.
The move to appoint Babar as the skipper can happen and the report adds that he is expected to lead the team in the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand in April.
