Following Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the ICC World Cup 2023 campaign, Babar Azam has resigned from captaincy across all formats of the game. Shan Masood has been appointed Test captain, Shahid Afridi as T20I captain, and Mohammad Hafeez is the new director of the Pakistan men’s team, replacing Mickey Arthur.
Babar expressed on the social media platform, “Today, I am stepping down as the captain of Pakistan in all formats. It’s a tough decision, but I believe it’s the right time.” He added, “I am here to support the new captain and team with my experience and dedication. I want to thank the Pakistan Cricket Board from the bottom of my heart for entrusting me with this significant responsibility.”
As Pakistan’s World Cup campaign turned disappointing, Babar faced sharp criticism, even being seen as a lone performer during the team’s loss to Afghanistan. Despite being the star batsman and maintaining the top spot in ICC rankings for a while, Babar struggled in the tournament, scoring only 320 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 82.90. Pakistan won only four out of nine matches in the league stage.
In 2019, Babar took over the captaincy from Sarfaraz Ahmed in white-ball cricket and was given the Test captaincy in 2021. Under his leadership, Pakistan reached the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup along with winning the Asia Cup.
He reminisced, “I vividly remember the moment when PCB called me in 2019 to lead Pakistan. In the past four years, I have experienced many ups and downs on and off the field, but I have achieved the goal with wholehearted dedication.” He concluded, “Maintaining Pakistan’s prestige in the cricketing world is my earnest desire.”
Babar’s decision comes after the drama-filled World Cup campaign in India, where PCB had to deal with internal conflicts, and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq was removed from his position due to allegations of interference in team selection. Pakistan started the World Cup with two wins against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka but quickly faced setbacks with four consecutive losses to fall out of contention.
Bowling coach Moin Khan had already resigned from the support staff a few days ago. PCB has now revealed that an announcement about the “new coaching staff” will be made at the right time. This announcement signals the end of the road for head coach Grant Bradburn and batting coach Andrew Puttick, who were with the team during the World Cup.
In a statement, the board said, “PCB has reshaped the portfolio of the Pakistan coaching staff. All coaches will continue to work at the National Cricket Academy, while PCB will announce new coaching staff for the upcoming series in Australia and New Zealand.”