In order to consider a return, Babar, who has not yet accepted the invitation, has requested that the PCB be named captain in all three formats.
Babar Azam has been awarded the white-ball captaincy once again, meaning Shaheen Shah Afridi's one-series reign as Pakistan T20I captain is about to end. Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the PCB, presented the offer to Babar earlier this week.
As for Babar, he hasn't accepted the offer yet. He was offended by the decision to take away his armband in all three forms after Pakistan's dismal 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, and if he is to consider a comeback, he has requested that the PCB name him captain in each of the three formats. After Babar unwillingly resigned, no official ODI captain was ever named; however, Shan Masood is the current Test captain, having captained the team during a three-match series in Australia.
once Naqvi declined to support Afridi during a press conference in Lahore on Sunday, stating that a final decision would be taken once Pakistan's military training camp concluded, it was clear that Afridi's time was running out. However, it seems that confidence in Afridi's leadership skills has quickly evaporated after he led Pakistan in one series and his PSL team, Lahore Qalandars. Pakistan's T20I series loss to New Zealand was 4-1, and Qalandars only managed one win in 10 games, finishing last in the PSL standings.
But, considering Naqvi's remarks that Pakistan preferred appointments made hastily after a few games to long-term captains they could support, Afridi would feel cheated because that is exactly what has happened to him. Afridi, who is still only 23 years old, was chosen to be captain in part because of his potential to grow on the job and hold the position for a long time. He was also seen as the front-runner to assume leadership of the ODI team.
Although Babar's insistence on being named Test captain isn't thought to be a deal-breaker for the outgoing captain, it does exert a great lot of pressure on Masood's role as red-ball captain. Pakistan lost all three of their games in Australia, and he has only captained the team for one series. Even though injuries hindered the bowling attack, a more aggressive style as captain was generally regarded as a contributing factor to Pakistan running the hosts close in two of the three Test matches.
The PCB's conduct over the previous 18 months has been fundamentally flawed by the backtracking on the captaincy issue. Since the beginning of 2023, they have gone through several chief selectors and selection committees with various levels of authority. The most well-known choice made by Zaka Ashraf was to fire Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn and force Babar to leave right before an important tour of Australia, but the unrest had been simmering for much longer.
The current composition of the selecting committee is likewise somewhat different. There is no chief selector; instead, there are four selectors: Wahab Riaz, Asad Shafiq, Abdul Razzaq, and Muhammad Yousuf. They will be accompanied by a data analyst, the coach and captain of Pakistan, who have not yet been named. Voting will be used to make selections, with 4-3 majority winning out.
As things stand, Pakistan has been in talks with a number of potential head coach candidates but has not been able to come to an agreement. Those that ultimately declined them included Shane Watson, Mike Hesson, and Adam Voges. Moreover, once-promising talks with Luke Ronchi have also fallen through. There is yet no indication of a breakthrough in the talks between the PCB and Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie.
Pakistan's upcoming series, which Babar is anticipated to captain his team for once again, consists of five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against New Zealand in April.
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