Babar Azam (Photo Source: ASIF HASSAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Najam Sethi, said that Babar Azam can remain the national skipper unless he decides to give up his captaincy. The 28-year-old is captaining Pakistan in all three formats after the departure of Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Babar won’t be a part of the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which is supposed to get underway on March 25 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and hence, Shadab Khan has been named as the stand-in skipper for the T20I series.
In the light of same events, Sethi, who has replaced Ramiz Raja as the PCB chief, said that Babar’s captaincy would not be under any threat. Sethi stated that If Azam wants to leave the captaincy, it will be completely his decision.
“There is no threat. Our established skipper Babar will remain the captain of our national squad until he himself decides whether he wants to leave the captaincy of any one format or all three formats or he wants to remain the captain in all. It will totally be his call,” Sethi was quoted as saying by India Today.
Babar backed the decision to try youngsters in the upcoming series, says Sethi
Pakistan selected youngsters, including Ihsanullah, Zaman Khan, and Saim Ayub, who all performed brilliantly in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 for Afghanistan T20Is. Sethi said that he backed the PCB’s decision on picking youngsters for the series against Afghanistan.
“I respect Babar a lot; he is our top star. I am very happy that he supported our decision to try youngsters against Afghanistan,” Sethi added.
Azam is currently the captain of Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL 2023 season. But, due to illness, he missed his last game against Islamabad United and is expected to return for the Eliminator 1 against the same opposition at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store