Pakistan Cricket Council Appoints New Leaders For The Men In Green

Pakistan Cricket Council has named Shaheen Shah Afridi as the new T20I captain and Shan Masood as the new Test captain. These developments came after Babar Azam resigned as Pakistan’s captaincy from all three formats of cricket. Since the Men in Green is not playing any One Day International match in the near future, that is why the announcement of the ODI captain is delayed for the moment. 

After Babar officially declared his resignation, the Pakistan Cricket Council issued a statement where Babar was proposed with the prospect of continuing as the Test Captain, while the decision to leave white ball captaincy was accepted as destined. The Board conveyed support for Babar’s decision, expressing, “Pakistan Cricket Council respects his decision and continues to support him as a player.”

On the other hand, Masood’s position as the Test captain marks a notable upgrade as the player has not yet managed to make a permanent spot in the Test side so far. His first undertaking in the new role would be tough in the form of an away series against Australia- a team against which they have lost their last 14 consecutive Tests. 

Shaheen Afridi as the T20I captain will have his first assignment against New Zealand for 5 T20I matches. This will also mark the beginning of the preparations for the T20 World Cup which will be held in June, next year. 

Afridi has the experience of leading the Lahore side in the Pakistan T20 League and became the first team to defend the trophy by winning back-to-back seasons. The Pakistan Cricket Council informed that the ODI captain would be selected “in due period.”

With these developments, the Board also revealed that Mohammad Hafeez would be the team director taking charge from Mickey Arthur. As of now, Arthur has not been terminated from his position. Hafeez did not have any previous coaching or directorial experience.

Head coach Grant Bradburn will also not escort the Pakistan team to Australia and New Zealand. Probably, Younis Khan is expected to take over the position. Neither Arthur nor Bradburn has been dismissed from their duties but will still not travel with the team.