Babar Azam, his fans await crown of captaincy
Cricket
Babar stepped down as skipper from all the formats in November last year
LAHORE (Dunya News) - Fans of star batsman Babar Azam are eagerly awaiting the announcement of his selection as the captain of the national team.
Rumours are doing the rounds that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to name Babar Azam captain ahead of the crucial five-match T20 series against New Zealand which will begin on April 20.
It is learnt that Azam has asked the PCB to appoint him skipper in all three formats. The board is contemplating the issue and expected to make an announcement anytime.
Earlier, word got round that the PCB had decided to reappoint Babar Azam to lead national team on the call of the newly-formed selection committee.
According to sources, Babar would lead the Green Shirts during the five-match T20 series against New Zealand.
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Shaheen Shah Afridi was picked as white-ball captain following the team’s drubbing in the ICC World Cup 2023, while Shan Masood was given the red-ball captaincy by the previous PCB management.
The sources said the selection committee proposed to appoint Babar as captain. He would attend the Kakul training camp as captain, they added.
Meanwhile, sources close to Shaheen revealed that he had decided to step down but his close friends advised him not to do so and wait for the PCB decision.
Babar stepped down as the skipper of the national side from all formats in November last year after leading the side for four years.
Read More: Embattled Babar Azam resigns as captain from all formats
He was under fire for several months after Pakistan failed to perform in the Asia Cup and the World Cup where they failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
Babar was appointed white-ball captain in 2019 and Test skipper in 2020, but the team has not won any ICC or Asia Cup titles under his leadership.
