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Babar Azam Wants To Dethrone Shaheen, Masood For Pakistan’s All-Format Captaincy

Babar Azam wants Pakistan's captaincy back (X.com)Babar Azam wants Pakistan's captaincy back (X.com)

If captaining the T20I team were to come up, Babar Azam has informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that he would prefer to lead in all formats.

Babar should be named captain for the upcoming T20 World Cup, according to the PCB's initial wishes. The ace batsman, however, leans toward a longer-term commitment in his role as captain.

In an attempt to convince Babar Azam to assume captaincy for the white-ball formats, the PCB selectors are scheduled to travel to Kakul on Saturday. The selectors and Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met late on Friday night and came to this decision. 

"Shaheen Shah Afridi's one-series stint as Pakistan T20I captain is set to come to an end, with Babar Azam offered the white-ball captaincy once more," an ESPNCricinfo report read.

"The decision to strip him of the armband in all three formats following Pakistan's poor 2023 ODI World Cup campaign rankled him, and he has asked the PCB to be appointed captain across all three formats if he is to consider a return. While no ODI captain was ever officially appointed when Babar reluctantly stepped down, Shan Masood is the current Test captain, having led the side in a three-match series in Australia."

The captain will have full authority, as the PCB selectors will make every effort to reassure Babar of this. The 29-year-old's close associates urge him to make his demands known right away, pointing out the board's precarious situation, which led him to give up his captaincy duties after the ODI World Cup last year. This tactic does, however, run the risk of unintended consequences.

The PCB may announce the update regarding the captaincy at a press conference on Sunday.