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Babar in ODI captaincy race: PAK reportedly shortlist 3 contenders to replace Rizwan

Anurag Dasgupta

Babar tipped to replace Rizwan [Source: AFP Photo] Babar tipped to replace Rizwan [Source: AFP Photo]

Pakistan cricket has gone downhill ever since the Men in Green crashed out of the Champions Trophy 2025 tournament. They lost against India, and that was the final nail in the coffin, as the selectors are planning a plethora of changes, keeping in mind the 2027 World Cup in South Africa. One of those changes is sacking Mohammad Rizwan from the ODI captaincy.

Under Rizwan’s leadership, the Pakistan team failed to deliver the goods in the Champions Trophy at their home, and the management has reportedly decided to move on from him. Moreover, according to reports in Pakistani media, there are three contenders to replace Rizwan.

The three contenders to replace Rizwan as captain

According to reports by Sohail Imran of Geo News, Pakistan selectors have hand-picked three contenders to replace Rizwan in the ODIs. Earlier, Shaheen Afridi was tipped to become the new ODI skipper, but now, two other players have entered the race with Babar Azam, and T20I captain, Salman Ali Agha also in the scheme of things.

Pakistan have set its sights on the World Cup in 2027, and with Rizwan having a disappointing Champions Trophy, the management has made a panicking decision to replace him as the leader of the team. Babar was the ODI captain before Rizwan, but he relinquished his duties in 2024. Meanwhile, Salman Ali Agha has been a disappointment as the T20I captain, but he has the backing of the management.

Rizwan's ODI place in jeopardy

The reports also mentioned that if Rizwan is removed from the post, his ODI place could be in jeopardy. This comes in as a surprise since the middle-order batter is Pakistan’s best batter alongside Babar Azam.

In 94 ODIs, he has 2713 runs, with an average of 40, which is way better than most of the Pakistan batters in the squad. However, the selectors perhaps have a different view as they don’t view Rizwan playing in the side as a pure batter.