Shan Masood out, Babar Azam appointed national Test team captain
By Nawaz Gohar ; The Pakistan team will play a warm-up match in Tarouba on July 18, while the first Test will be played at the same venue from July 25 to 29.
Babar Azam has been appointed captain of the Pakistan Test team for the tours of the West Indies and England, while Shan Masood has been stripped of his captaincy due to poor performance.
Selection committee member Aaqib Javed made key announcements regarding the national cricket team during a press conference in Lahore.
He informed that Babar Azam has been appointed as the captain of the national Test team, while Shan Masood has been removed from the captaincy owing to poor performance. During the same press conference, the Pakistani squads for the tours of the West Indies and England were also announced.
Pakistan’s 16-member squad includes Babar Azam (Captain), Shan Masood, Imam-ul-Haq, Azan Awais, Abdullah Fazal, Salman Ali Agha, Ghazi Ghouri, and Mohammad Rizwan.
The squad also features Sajid Khan, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Ubaid Shah, Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad. Middle-order batter Saud Shakeel is not part of the squad due to fitness issues.
Speaking on the occasion, Aaqib Javed stated that the 16-member squad will travel to the West Indies, adding that Saud Shakeel’s fitness will take some time to improve.
“Misbah-ul-Haq has not even completed six months on the selection committee yet, and Sarfaraz Ahmed joined the selection committee six months ago. The team’s preparation is quite good. We have now tried to bring about a change so that the team yields better results. Shaheen Shah Afridi is an excellent bowler,” Aaqib said.
“We are facing issues in red-ball cricket. Babar Azam did not place any conditions for the captaincy. Players must confirm their spot in the team through their performances. Neither the selection committee nor the Board wants to bring in a new captain for every series,” he added.
Aaqib further noted, “An opportunity should be given with consistency for the captaincy. We hope Babar Azam will lead the Test team for the next 2 to 3 years.”
On this occasion, Misbah-ul-Haq stated that continuity is very important in cricket, as it leads to success. He mentioned that one has to evaluate the outcomes of captaincy or performance, and observe whether there is consistency in performance as both a player and a captain. He clarified that T20 performance only matters for T20 cricket, and Babar Azam was not appointed captain based on T20s.
It is worth noting that Babar Azam had announced his resignation from the captaincy of all formats following the national team’s dismal performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup, after which Shan Masood was appointed as the Test team captain.
However, during his two-and-a-half-year tenure, Shan Masood’s performance as leader was dismal, with the team suffering defeats in 12 out of 16 Test matches under his captaincy. This included humiliating whitewash defeats against Bangladesh in both home and away Test series.
