Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, and Sarfaraz Ahmed are being discussed as potential successors to Pakistan skipper Babar Azam as captain after the national team returns from the World Cup in India. The 29-year-old captaincy came under the scanner following the Men In Green’s hat-trick of losses in the marquee event.
Pakistan is scheduled to travel to Australia right after the completion of the ODI World Cup. The team will be eyeing to develop a good team in focus with the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. Babar has had his opportunity to establish himself as the leader of the Pakistan team but he hasn’t done so while leading the team.
According to the various reports in Pakistan, only a semifinal finish in the ongoing ODI World Cup in India can save Babar Azam’s captaincy in white-ball cricket, while he might continue as the red-ball captain of Pakistan going forward and reckons that he will held completely responsible for the team’s failure in the marquee event, as he had full freedom in the team selection.
“Only if Pakistan can stage a miracle and win all their remaining matches to qualify for the semi-finals of this World Cup does Babar stand any chance of surviving as captain and even then he might be relegated to skipper in just the red ball format.”
Shaheen Afridi Credits: Twitter“It is over for Babar because he has been given unbridled power and authority as captain and more importantly he has always had players of his choice in the team. There has never been any attempt to reduce his authority and so he is now being held solely responsible for the Asia Cup and World Cup defeats.”
Pakistan still has four league games left in the World Cup after losing its last three games, including the one against Afghanistan on Monday. They have a chance to get to the semifinals still if they manage to win the remaining games. The inside source asserted that Babar Azam would be targeted and might as well step down as captain if the team leaves the tournament without making it to the World Cup semifinals.
The Pakistan Cricket Board will probably choose new captains for the red and white ball teams in the near future, with Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, Muhammad Rizwan, and Shan Masood being discussed as potential candidates to lead the side.
The source added that Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, Morne Morkel, and Andrew Puttick’s position in the team is also under scrutiny and they might be asked to resign from their roles after the completion of the ODI World Cup 2023.