Following the 3-0 whitewash in the T20I series at home versus a second-stringed Sri Lanka in October 2019, Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed from captaincy. Babar Azam was given the reins of the side in the shortest format before he recently got promoted as an ODI skipper.
Revealing the thinking and process behind Babar’s escalation as a limited-overs captain, head coach Misbah-ul-Haq was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan, “The way I look at it, being a top batsman he is best suited to lead the team by example and this would make it easier for him to also take strong decisions and for the team to follow him.”
The chief selector-cum-head coach further highlighted, “Making Babar captain of the T20 team last year was a tester really. We wanted to see how he will respond to the challenge and how it will affect his batting.”
While Babar hasn’t had a long run as T20I captain, the right-hander batted with the same intensity and maintained consistency, so far, in his brief stint as the leader in the shortest format. Thus, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have shown faith in him to take the Men in Green forward in ODIs as well.
