Babar Azam Captain: Pakistan made Babar Azam the captain, Shan Masood retired

By Samira Vishwas On Jul 6, 2026

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has dismissed Shan Masood from the captaincy of the Test team and replaced him with Babar Azam. It seemed certain to remove Masood from the post of captain. Out of the 18 Test matches that Pakistan played under his captaincy, it had to face defeat in 12 of them. Masood took over the captaincy from Babar in early 2023.

Pakistani team selector Aaqib Javed told reporters in Lahore, ‘We were looking for a captain who could lead the team better. Shaan’s individual performance was good but as captain we were not getting the expected results. He said that all the members of the selection committee were unanimous in appointing Babar as captain and no other player’s name was discussed.

Also read: Half-baked preparation, no place in the team… Why only Ravi Bishnoi’s selection?

Pakistan team won 10 tests under the captaincy of Babar

Under the captaincy of Masood, Australia defeated Pakistan 3-0 in the first series itself. After this, its performance continued to be poor and for the first time it had to face a 2-0 defeat to Bangladesh on its home ground. While Masood was the captain, Pakistan won the only series against England by 2-1 on its home soil. Pakistan was at the bottom position in the points table of the last World Test Championship.

Also read: Team India was winning in the second T20, how did the tables turn in one over?

Masood performed well with the bat during his captaincy. He scored two centuries and seven half-centuries during this period. Before handing over the captaincy to Masood, Babar had led Pakistan to 10 wins in 20 Test matches. Babar’s second term as captain will begin with the two-Test series to be held in West Indies later this month, for which Pakistan has included Masood in the squad of 16 players.

Pakistan’s team is as follows: Babar Azam (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azaan Awais, Imamul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Aga, Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah.