Babar Azam is likely to be sacked as the captain of Pakistan after the way the Men in Green got eliminated from T20 World Cup 2024 in the first round itself. Pakistan fans high hopes from captain Babar, who had led the nation to the semifinals after being undefeated in group stage of T20 World Cup 2021 and then miraculously led the team to the finals in T20 World Cup 2022.
However, despite having a much stronger team in T20 World Cup 2024, Babar could not lead Pakistan even to the Super 8s round. The Men in Green lost against USA in Super Over and then went down in a low-scoring thriller against India. With USA’s washout against Ireland and win against Canada as well, Pakistan have been knocked out.
The PCB will likely make some big changes to ensure that the team performs well in upcoming T20Is. Here are two players who can replace Babar Azam as T20I captain.
1. Mohammad Rizwan may replace Babar Azam as Pakistan’s T20I captain
Wicketkeepers have been quite successful as captains in the past. MS Dhoni led India to three ICC trophies, while Sarfaraz Ahmed also won Champions Trophy as Pakistan captain. Perhaps, Pakistan can appoint a wicketkeeper as their captain again.
Mohammad Rizwan has shown that he is a fearless player, and he has led Multan Sultans well in the PSL. Thus, Rizwan seems to be the best choice for this role.
2. Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen Afridi was appointed as Pakistan’s T20I captain just after the ODI World Cup ended. However, after New Zealand crushed Pakistan in a bilateral series, Afridi was sacked. He even rejected the team’s vice-captaincy in T20 World Cup 2024, which is why it will be difficult for PCB officials to convince him to take captaincy back.
