Recent events have seen Pakistan’s best batsman and captain, Babar Azam, declare his intention to resign from all-format captaincy. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on social media shortly after this significant decision that Shaheen Afridi will captain the T20I team and Shan Masood will head the Test team.
PCB posted a statement on their “X” feed stating, “Introducing our captains: Shaheen Afridi will captain the T20I side, and Shan Masood has been appointed Test captain.”
Presenting our captains 🇵🇰@shani_official has been appointed Test captain while @iShaheenAfridi will lead the T20I side. pic.twitter.com/wPSebUB60m
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 15, 2023
Babar Azam earlier sent a passionate letter after resigning as Pakistan’s skipper due to the team’s poor performance in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 in India. He pondered on the day he was named captain by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2019 and reviewed the events of the previous four years, which included Pakistan’s ascent to the top of the ODI format, in his statement. He gave the players, coaches, and management collective credit for this accomplishment.
Pakistan’s struggled in the competition, losing four straight games after early wins over Sri Lanka and the Netherlands. Despite coming back with two significant victories, they were ousted in the last group stage encounter following a defeat to the reigning champions, England.
Mohammad Hafeez, the captain of Pakistan’s Test squad, has been named director of the men’s team by PCB.
In other relevant news, Mohammad Hafeez, the former Pakistani Test captain, has been named the National Team’s director. Hafeez provides a plethora of experience to the position having played for Pakistan in 119 T20Is, 218 ODIs, and 55 Tests. In addition to playing for the Pakistan Men’s team that won the ICC Champions Trophy in England in 2017, he was a member of the PCB Cricket Technical Committee in the past.
The coaching staff has also undergone modifications by the PCB, with all coaches remaining employed under the National Cricket Academy. In due order, the new coaching staff for the forthcoming series in Australia and New Zealand will be revealed.
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