Cricket is a team game, and in a team sport, the role of a captain is quite important. The skipper has to decide the batting order, the bowling changes and the field setup for the matches. He works with the coach to ensure that he gets the best results for the team.
Captaincy is not an easy thing in cricket because it is tough to handle the entire squad and at the same time, the captain has to focus on his own performance as an individual as well. Although captaincy is tough, fans have witnessed some great leaders like MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting, who achieved enormous success in the past.
Dhoni and Ponting created a legacy which will be tough to match. However, if a captain does not succeed in his job, the team management wastes little time to change the skipper. In this listicle now, we will glance at two such international team captains who may lose their captaincy soon.
1. New Zealand Cricket might sack Tim Southee as Test captain
Kane Williamson surprisingly stepped down as the New Zealand Test captain just a few months after leading the Blackcaps to the 2021 World Test Championship trophy. NZC respected Kane’s decision and named Tim Southee as the new captain.
The decision raised many eyebrows because Tom Latham was also available as a captaincy option. So far, Southee has been quite ordinary as the captain, drawing the series against Pakistan, a draw against Bangladesh, a series defeat against Australia and now a Test loss against Sri Lanka. NZC may soon relieve him from his duties.
2. Shan Masood, Pakistan
At the end of 2023, Pakistan appointed Shan Masood as their captain, replacing Babar Azam in the longest format of the game. While Masood aimed to bring results for the team instead of settling for draws, the move has completely backfired as the results are going against Pakistan.
A series defeat against Australia and an embarrassing home series loss at the hands of Bangladesh have raised questions over Masood’s leadership. If Pakistan loses the upcoming series against England, it could be the final nail in the coffin for Masood’s captaincy career in Tests.
