Babar Azam Resigns From White-Ball Captaincy Role

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has accepted Babar Azam's resignation from his role as the white-ball captain of the national team

Babar Azam in action at Rawalpindi during Pakistan vs Bangladesh 1st Test, August 25, 2024 / /

By Ian Omoro

The resignation of Babar Azam as the men's white-ball captain of Pakistan was accepted, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which confirmed the story on Tuesday night. In order to plan out future white-ball cricket initiatives, including suggesting a new skipper, the national selection committee has been entrusted with initiating the process.

Babar resigned as the captain of the Pakistani team for the second time in less than a year. He submitted his resignation from all three formats back in November 2023. This time, he ended his limited-overs cricket match early. Additionally, Pakistan's Test cricket team is not playing at its best. In his five Test matches as captain since succeeding Babar last year, Shan Masood has experienced losses.

The PCB stated that although it had supported Babar in his roles as captain of the T20 and ODI teams, his resignation was due to "his desire to focus more on making a greater impact as a player." 

"I have decided to resign as captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, effective as of my notification to the PCB and Team Management last month,” Babar said on X.

"Captaincy has been a rewarding experience, but it’s added a significant workload. I want to prioritize my performance, enjoy my batting, and spend quality time with my family, which brings me joy.”

Following Pakistan's elimination from the 50-over World Cup in India last year, Babar announced his resignation as captain of all formats, including Test cricket. When Pakistan lost 4-1 to New Zealand in the Twenty20 format, Shaheen Shah Afridi was relieved of his captaincy. Not since the World Cup has Pakistan participated in an ODI.

Pakistan does not have many options at its disposal, and neither do they have adequate time. Their ODI series in Australia begins on November 4, and the T20Is begin on November 14. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Rizwan are the current players that Pakistan may choose to lead the national squad in the shorter formats.