Pakistan's performance in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 held in West Indies and the USA left much to be desired. They suffered a Super Over defeat by the hands of the USA, followed by a six-run loss to India. Nonetheless, Babar's squad managed to scrape together victories against Canada and Ireland, but it wasn't enough to advance to the Super 8 stage.
In the wake of the disappointing showing at the T20 World Cup 2024, a phase of restructuring continues within Pakistani cricket. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on July 10 that Wahab Riaz was removed from the selection committee, along with Abdul Razzaq who was relieved from the men's and women's selection panels. Attention has now turned towards the leadership of the Pakistan cricket team.
Shan Masood's Captaincy Intact, But...
The PCB and coach Jason Gillespie have maintained their trust in Shan Masood as Test captain, while a decision regarding Babar Azam's captaincy will be made later. Babar's performance as both captain and batsman has been under scrutiny. Pakistan is set to host England for a three-match Test series in October this year, while also facing Bangladesh, South Africa, and West Indies.
Source: aajtak
A PCB meeting on Wednesday, which included board senior officials, national selectors, Gillespie, white-ball coach Gary Kirsten, and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood, discussed the team's poor World Cup performance. According to a source close to the developments, the meeting was held to sketch out a comprehensive blueprint for the national team's future in both red and white-ball formats.
At the beginning of this year, before the tour to Australia, Masood received full backing as test captain. However, no decision was made regarding Babar's white-ball captaincy, although his role as captain and batsman was highly discussed.
Note that Babar Azam had relinquished his captaincy across all formats after a lackluster World Cup 2023. Afterwards, Shaheen Afridi was appointed T20 captain, while Shan Masood ascended as the Test team's captain. However, after a disappointing performance against New Zealand in January, Afridi was dismissed from the T20 captaincy. Subsequently, PCB President Mohsin Naqvi appointed Babar Azam as white-ball cricket captain in March 2024.
