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Babar took to social media platforms on October 2 to announce his decision to quit Pakistan’s T20I captaincy.
Babar Azam resigned as Pakistan’s T20I captain on October 2. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Babar Azam stepped down as Pakistan’s all-format captain last year after Men in Green failed to qualify for the semifinals of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, which was played entirely in India. But after a change in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) leadership earlier this year, Babar was reappointed as Pakistan captain and led them in the T20 World Cup 2024. But after Pakistan failed to progress from the group stage, there were calls of Babar’s sacking, and via a social media post on October 2, the 30-year-old right-handed batter announced his decision to step down as Pakistan captain.
After Babar decided to give up captaincy duties, many fans and experts accused PCB of forcing Babar to make the decision, but while speaking to reporters in a media conference on Sunday in Lahore, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi said that it was Babar’s decision to leave captaincy and no one forced him to do so.
According to him, Babar “didn’t want to be captain” and “no one forced him to resign as captain.”.
“Babar humara Pakistan ka ek asset hai. Kafi arse baad is tareh ke bade players aate hai. Usne mujhse raabta kiya aur usne kaha ki Mohsin bhai mai as a captain continue nahi karna chahta. Kisi ne usse koi… bahut sari baatein beech mein aato nahi thi, lekin main apko bata sakta hoon ki PCB mein se kisi se usse koi na raabta kiya tha ki aapne captaincy chodni hai ya kuch karna hai, uska khud. Usne pehele coaches se aur baki logo se apna mashwara kiya aur fir mujhe kaha ki main as captain continue nahi karna chahta (Babar is an asset. He spoke to me, and he told me he didn’t want to be captain, and let me make it clear that no one forced him to resign as captain. It is his own personal decision. He had sought advice before resigning),” Naqvi said.
“Uska jo bhi faisla tha… Vo apni game par jyada focus karna chahta hai aur hum sabki khwaish hai vo apni form mein wapis aaye aur usi tareh ki performance de jis tareh ki vo pehele deta raha hai (Whatever his decision was… he wants to focus more on his game, and we all want him to return to his form and start performing well once again), he added.
During the press conference, PCB announced Mohammad Rizwan as the new white-ball captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, and all-rounder Salman Ali Agha was appointed as his deputy.
“After Babar’s decision, I spoke to all selectors and five mentors and discussed the issue, and everyone felt unanimously that Rizwan should be made captain in white ball with Salman Ali Agha as his vice captain,” Naqvi said.
Rizwan, who is a regular member of the Pakistan team in all three formats of the game, will make his full-time captaincy debut on November 4 during the first ODI between Pakistan and Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- Location :
Lahore, Pakistan
