‘Coup’ took place in Pakistan cricket, captaincy snatched from Shan Masood; Babar Azam got command

Islamabad: Once again a big change has been seen in Pakistan cricket. The selection committee of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has handed over the captaincy of the Test team from Shan Masood to Babar Azam. This decision has been taken keeping in mind the upcoming West Indies and England tours. The selection committee announced the new captain during a press conference in Lahore. Babar Azam will take over the captaincy of Pakistan’s Test team for the second time. Before this, he had commanded the team from 2021 to 2023.

Poor performance weighed heavily on Shan Masood

Pakistan Test team under the leadership of Shan Masood could not perform as per expectations. Under his captaincy, the team played 16 test matches, winning only four, while facing defeat in 12 matches.

Recently, after the 0-2 defeat in the Test series against Bangladesh, the team reached the bottom of the World Test Championship points table. After this the discussion about change in captaincy intensified. Although Masood led a 2-1 series win against England at home, he lost his position due to continuous poor results.

Big challenge in front of Babar

This comeback will not be easy for Babar Azam. His Test performance in the last few years has also not been as per expectations. He has not scored a century in Test cricket since 2022 and his average has also dropped significantly in recent matches. Now the selectors hope that after getting the captaincy, Babar will be able to improve his batting as well as the team’s performance.

West Indies and England tour important

Pakistan team will play a two-Test series against West Indies from July 25. After this, an important series of three test matches will be played against England in August and September. Both these tours are being considered as the first big test of Babar Azam’s captaincy.

New players also got a chance

The selection committee has included many new faces in the team for both the tours. Ali Usman, Mohammad Awais Zafar, Ubaid Shah and wicketkeeper Mohammad Ghazi Ghori have got a place in the Test team for the first time. The board believes that by giving opportunities to young players, new energy can be brought into the team.

Now all eyes will be on whether Babar Azam is able to give a new direction to Pakistan cricket in his second captaincy or the team’s struggle continues in the future.