Babar Azam made an unexpected announcement on late Tuesday night, as he confirmed his resignation as the side’s white-ball captain. The star batter Babar Azam was renamed as side’s T20I captain months before the T20 World Cup earlier this year; however, Pakistan endured a difficult campaign, as they failed to make it out of the group stage.
Pakistan are mulling over whom to hand over the white-ball captaincy after Babar Azam decided to step down from the role. An obvious candidate in Mohammad Rizwan has emerged but their white-ball coach Gary Kirsten and selectors have flagged a major concern regarding the workload management given the amount of cricket Pakistan are slated to play in the coming months.
Babar Azam second stint as captain for Pakistan in white ball cricket
After being removed as captain across formats last year, Babar Azam was reinstated as T20I captain right before the T20 World Cup but an early exit put the star batter under more pressure given his predecessor Shaheen Afridi was sacked just after leading the team in one series.
The 29-year-old was removed as Pakistan’s white-ball captain after the team’s underwhelming campaign at the 2023 ODI World Cup. However, after a period of just three months, Babar found himself reappointed for the job in March 2024. Babar Azam’s second stint started in chaos as Pakistan crashed out of the T20 World Cup in the group stages with the defeat to USA being the main low for the side. The loss to arch-rivals India, after being in pole position, was also a talking point.
The latest development, therefore, doesn’t quite come as a surprise, given the general trends in Pakistan cricket. The Test side recently lost to Bangladesh for the first time in history and Pakistan’s overall morale as an international side hasn’t been at its highest.
Babar Azam took to the social networking site ‘X’ to make the announcement public and felt that it was time for him to give the entire focus on his batting. Pakistan’s talisman batter has had an underwhelming time through the 2023-24 season with the numbers and impact not being to the levels he has been known for.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is now considering a shift in its leadership structure by introducing separate captains for all three formats of the game, according to PTI. With a demanding international calendar, PCB is aiming to address concerns regarding workload management.
Babar Azam’s retirement as Pakistan skipper creates stir for captainship role in Pakistan cricket team
While Babar had long been the face of Pakistan cricket as an all-format captain, it is further reported that the PCB’s plans to continue with Babar at the helm in ODI cricket were abruptly interrupted when he tendered his resignation.
Mohammad Rizwan, the side’s wicketkeeper-batter, has emerged as the frontrunner for the white-ball captaincy, given his automatic selection across all formats. However, the path to his appointment is far from straightforward.
The white-ball head coach, Gary Kirsten, and the selection committee are reportedly grappling with concerns over Rizwan’s ability to manage the intense workload that comes with playing and leading the side in all formats. Rizwan, like Babar and Shaheen Afridi, plays across formats, making his workload a key issue for red-ball coach Jason Gillespie, Kirsten, and the PCB selectors.
After being removed as captain across formats last year, Babar was reinstated as T20I captain right before the T20 World Cup but an early exit put the star batter under more pressure given his predecessor Shaheen Afridi was sacked just after leading the team in one series.
“Mohammad Rizwan is the obvious choice for the white-ball captaincy given that, along with Babar, he is the only player who is an automatic selection in all formats of the game,” news agency PTI quoted an insider as claiming.
“But things are not so simple because, with the hectic international calendar of the team, the workload on Rizwan is a worrying factor for red-ball coach, Jason Gillespie, Kirsten, the PCB and the selectors,” the source added.
Along with Babar and Rizwan, fast bowler Afridi is also an all-format player and hence the challenge with managing their workload.
The team is set to play 18 ODIs and T20Is across Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa from November through December, followed by a two-Test series in South Africa. Upon their return in January, the side will face the West Indies in a two-Test series, engage in an ODI tri-series with New Zealand and South Africa, and later compete in the ICC Champions Trophy.
The calendar culminates in a white-ball series in New Zealand before the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The sheer volume of matches has raised significant concerns about Rizwan’s capacity to handle the dual responsibility of playing and captaining.
“Babar was captain in all three formats for more than three years but Kirsten and the selectors have their reservations over whether Rizwan would be able to handle the workload in the coming months of not only playing all the formats but also leading the side in ODIs and T20Is,” said another source.
The source says it’s a possibility that the PCB could either have separate ODI and T20I captains or appoint a strong vice-captain to Rizwan and make it clear that the wicketkeeper-batter will get ample breaks to manage his workload.
“In which case, Rizwan’s deputy will lead the team,” the source said. “Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood and Shaheen are the other candidates under consideration for either the role of Rizwan’s deputy or leading the T20I or ODI side.”
The source said that Kirsten had already informed the PCB that after Babar’s loss of confidence and form, he didn’t think any other player could handle the captaincy pressures in two formats.