Babar Azam might not remain the Pakistan T20I captain and might be replaced by Shaheen Afridi, said Simon Doull. Pakistan has not been in great form under Babar Azam’s second reign as captain in this T20 World Cup 2024.
Babar is leading Pakistan for the third time in T20 World Cups. In the 2021 edition, Pakistan reached the semi-finals, while in 2022, Babar led the side to the final, losing to England.
However, after a disappointing ICC World Cup 2023 in India, Babar Azam resigned as captain after four years. Shan Masood replaced him as Test captain, while Shaheen became T20I captain. However, after just one dismal series, the PCB panicked and gave Babar the white-ball captaincy again, summarily removing Shaheen as captain.
During Babar’s second term, Pakistan drew the home T20I series against New Zealand before losing to England ahead of the T20 World Cup.
However, given Pakistan’s defeats to minnows USA and archrivals India in the current ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Simon Doull has stated that Babar may not stay captain of the Men in Green team after this tournament. Doull said he would want to see Shaheen Afridi take over as Pakistan’s T20I captain.
Shaheen Afridi tipped to be the next Pakistan captain
“Shaheen leads the side in the Pakistan Super League. I think he’s the next captain, providing he remains fit and healthy. I think he will captain the side post this T20 World Cup,” Doull said on Cricbuzz.
Babar Azam and his teammates failed to perform under duress, losing to the United States in the first match and narrowly losing to India in the second.
The match against the USA showed Pakistan’s shortcomings, as the batsmen failed to increase the ante when needed, and they didn’t learn from it, making the same mistake against India, as their prospects of making the Super 8 now hang in the balance.
Babar Azam’s captaincy was also questioned as he let both USA and India batters put on unnecessary runs despite having them under pressure.
Former KKR director of cricket, Joy Bhattacharya has said that Babar Azam is not the right captain for Pakistan in any format.
“I don’t think he’s the right captain for Pakistan. He’s a great player. Like Tendulkar, I’d rather see him not captain. I’d rather see him win. 40% for a side of the quality of Pakistan is still not there. I want to see him in Pakistan colors for a long, long time. I think he’s their technically most competent batsman. I don’t think he’s a natural captain. Not in my book. So I’m happy for him to, sacked is a strong word, I’m happy for him to give way to other leadership,” he said on Cricbuzz.