while Shan Masood will captain the Test team following Babar Azam’s departure.
Following Babar Azam’s resignation, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named Shaheen Afridi as the country’s new T20I captain.
Babar Azam delivered a captaincy bombshell after Pakistan was eliminated from the ICC World Cup 2023 in India on Wednesday. During India’s semi-final match against New Zealand, former world no. 1 batter Babar resorted to social media to announce his resignation. Following Pakistan’s dismal performance at the One Day International (ODI) World Cup, Babar announced his resignation as captain in all formats.
Following Babar’s major announcement, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi as the Green Army’s T20I captain. While Afridi will captain Pakistan in the shorter format, Shan Masood will captain the Asian side in Tests. “Presenting our captains @shani_official has been appointed Test captain while @iShaheenAfridi will lead the T20I side,” the Cricket Board of India stated.
Masood has only played 30 Tests for Pakistan, having made his Test debut against South Africa at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in 2013. In 30 red-ball internationals, the newly named Pakistan Test captain has scored 1597 runs. The 34-year-old has seven half-centuries and four centuries in Test cricket while averaging only 28.52. Afridi, Babar’s replacement in T20I cricket, has played 52 games in the shortest format. The top pacer has also played 27 Tests and 53 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Pakistan.
