Babar Azam Officially Approached to Replace Shaheen Afridi as Captain

The current T20I captain of the Pakistan Justice platoon, Shaheen Shah Afridi, is anticipated to be replaced by ex-captain Babar Azam ahead of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. The development came after Babar Azam met with the new PCB president, Mohsin Naqvi, before joining the ongoing platoon training camp with the Pakistan army in Kakul.

Shaheen and Shan Masood were appointed as the captain of the T20I and Test format after the Babar debacle. Both faced bad original series, losing to Australia, 3- 0 and New Zealand, 4- 1.

Pakistan Cricket Board speaker, Mohsin Naqvi, gave a narrative during a recent press conference where he didn’t back Shaheen as Pakistan’s captain, as the platoon prepares at the Pakistan Military Academy for the T20 World Cup. Shaheen captained Lahore Qalandars at the Pakistan Super League( PSL) 9 where the platoon finished at the bottom.

The platoon won back-to-back titles in PSL 7 & 8 but the progress was hindered due to the absence of leggie Rashid Khan in season nine. Babar Azam’s imminent appearance as the captain of the white-ball side ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 can go either way with Shaheen being replaced only after one series as the leader of the side. Only time will tell what this captaincy change will forebode for Pakistan justice.