The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made Pakistan new captains for the T20I and Test formats after Babar Azam stepped down on the same day.
Shan Masood, a left-handed batter, has been chosen as the fresh Test captain, while Shaheen Afridi, a left-arm pacer, will lead the shorter format.
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The PCB shared that Shan Masood will lead the Test side until the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25. His first task as captain will be the three-match Test series against Australia starting on December 14.
On the other hand, Shaheen Shah Afridi will take charge of the Pakistan Men’s Team in T20Is. His inaugural assignment as captain will be the five-match T20I series in New Zealand from January 12 to 21. The 23-year-old has an impressive record in T20Is, securing 64 wickets in 52 matches. He also led Lahore Qalandars to victory twice in the 2022 and 2023 editions of the HBL PSL.
Babar Azam resigned from all formats after declining the PCB’s offer to remain as Test captain. Although he held the captaincy since 2019 in white-ball cricket and since 2020 in Tests, Pakistan didn’t secure any ICC or Asia Cup titles under his leadership.
Despite entering the World Cup as the top-ranked side, Pakistan couldn’t deliver and exited the tournament in the group stage. The team faced several setbacks, including losing four consecutive matches, a first in Pakistan’s cricket history.
Babar’s performance as a batter in the World Cup also fell below his usual standards. He managed only 320 runs in nine matches, averaging 40.00 with a strike rate of 82.90.
The 2023 World Cup marked Babar Azam’s fifth tournament as captain, following the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups and the 2022 and 2023 Asia Cups, where Pakistan failed to secure any trophies.
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