The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is looking at former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan, and pacer Shaheen Afridi as possible replacements for Babar Azam as captain post the ongoing World Cup.
Following a fine start to their 2023 World Cup campaign, winning the opening two games, the Men in Green have slumped to three consecutive losses and find themselves fifth on the points table. While the embarrassing defeat to India was dismal enough, the Babar Azam-led side also suffered their first-ever loss to lowly Afghanistan in their recent outing.
More than the result, several decisions by Babar during Afghanistan’s stunning run-chase of 283 raised eyebrows.
A source close to the development has said, as quoted by India Today:
“Only if Pakistan can stage a miracle and win all their remaining matches to qualify for the semi-finals of this World Cup does Babar stand any chance of surviving as captain and even then he might be relegated to skipper in just the red ball format.”
Barring a miraculous comeback leading to qualification for the semi-final, Babar’s tenure as skipper is all but likely over.
“It is over for Babar because he has been given unbridled power and authority as captain and more importantly he has always had players of his choice in the team. There has never been any attempt to reduce his authority and so he is now being held solely responsible for the Asia Cup and World Cup defeats,” the source added.
