Whether it’s with the white ball or the red ball, the late performance of the Pakistan side hasn’t been great at all. Under Babar Azam’s captaincy, they failed to qualify for the semifinals of last year’s Men’s ODI World Cup and were knocked out from the group stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA).
Babar Azam’s future of captaincy is under the clouds, as there is no certainty if he would retain the position in the 50-over format, while there have been doubts over his place in the shortest format of the game. Despite his Test series win in Sri Lanka, Shan Masood replaced him in the role before the Australia trip towards the end of 2023.
The same issue happened with Masood, as he lost his maiden red-ball series as captain before handing over the same result, this time more shocking, against Bangladesh at home. With another high-profile Test series at home against England and the Champions Trophy earlier next year to follow, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been considering a few potential captaincy changes.
PCB to remove Babar Azam and Shan Masood as captains? Report drops bombshell
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is going to hold a significant ‘connection camp’ on September 22, which has been aimed at bringing developments in the future course of their cricket.
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The high-profile meeting is also expected to have the presence of their white-ball head coach, Gary Kirstein, and the red-ball coach, Jason Gillespie, along with the heads of high-performance centers, some of the senior players, board officials, and both the international and domestic directors. The camp will be conducted by the chairman, Mohsin Naqvi.
The meeting will be based on decisions regarding the coaching and leadership skills of the Pakistan side. Kirstein, the former World Cup winning coach with the Indian coach, joined the Green Brigade just before the T20 World Cup 2024 and worked with Babar Azam during their bilateral series in England and later in the 20-over tournament.
The former South African player returned to his home after putting a detailed report to the PCB in July, while Gillespie has flown back to Australia after the completion of the Bangladesh series.
The ‘Connection Camp‘ will serve as the platform where many leadership possibilities could be discussed. The current wicket-keeper batter of the side, Mohammad Rizwan, seems to be the best option for the role at the moment, as he is an experienced member, along with someone who plays for the national side across formats.
The reports have confirmed that several meetings will take place with the red-ball and white-ball coaches to get their perspective on the respective formats. Among all the key topics, the biggest agenda will be the potential replacements of the captains of the side for the white-ball and red-ball games if they don’t think of replacing their current members, Babar Azam and Shan Masood.
Also Read: Babar Azam Sacked As White-ball Captain Of Pakistan? Report Drops Bombshell
The left-handed middle-order batter will lead the side in the upcoming three-match home series against England in late autumn before having another two-match series in South Africa towards the end of the year. Upon arrival at home, they will host West Indies in a two-match Test series.
Babar Azam has been overlooked as the captain of the Champions One-day, which has fueled speculations of ending his tenure as the captain of the side as they head to Australia for the white-ball series. The final results of these discussions are likely to come in the upcoming weeks.