Babar Azam Appointed Pakistan Test Captain Amidst Cricket Instability

The famous Urdu saying 'the secret is out' perfectly matches Pakistan cricket. What was hidden before has now come out.

Another dramatic turn has come in Pakistan cricket's captaincy game. It has been decided that neither Shan Masood nor Salman Ali Agha will be given the captaincy. Babar Azam has once again been made the captain of the Test team.

Babar Azam will captain the 16-member Pakistan team announced for the important tours of West Indies and England. This will be Babar's third stint as captain.

For the past few weeks, there has been a lot of discussion and speculation regarding the captaincy of the Pakistan Test team. On one hand, the Pakistan Cricket Board was said to be maintaining its trust in Shan Masood, while on the other hand, news was coming that Salman Ali Agha would be made the new Test captain.

There was also news that Salman Ali Agha, captain of the T-20 team, was offered the captaincy of the Test team. However, he had refused to take responsibility at that time.

It is also important to mention former Pakistani Test cricketer Basit Ali. A few days ago, he claimed on his YouTube channel that no player is currently willing to take on the captaincy of the Test team due to fear.

Everyone knows that losing on the difficult tours of West Indies and England will affect their careers. However, after this tour, any player will be ready to take on the captaincy for the next stage of the ICC World Test Championship.

In this situation, Babar Azam's captaincy is surprising. His entry into this story happened only at the last moment. Shan Masood's performance as captain was disappointing. He lost 12 out of 16 Test matches and won only 4. Despite such a performance, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took a long time to decide on his future. This could be because the PCB had no other option.

It has been confirmed from reliable sources that the PCB 'thinktank' proposed Babar Azam's name for captaincy a few days ago. In other words, Babar Azam was offered the captaincy, and after his consent, the formal announcement has now been made.

Babar Azam has accepted the captaincy. However, he himself knows very well what a big challenge this is for him. He must surely remember the bitter experience of having to give up captaincy twice in the past.

Although Babar Azam's record as Test captain is good, his batting form in Test matches is another big challenge for him. He has not scored a single century in 32 Test innings since scoring a century against New Zealand in December 2022. During this period, he has scored only 5 half-centuries.

It remains to be seen how well he can do justice to his batting under the pressure of captaincy. Or will the worry of improving his batting affect his captaincy?

• How long will Babar's captaincy last?

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif told BBC Hindi, 'It is not right to think that everything will be fine just by changing the captain.'

'The main problem is with the Pakistan Cricket Board, its members, selectors, and its thinking committee. The thinking committee has not done its job properly.'

'The way captains have been changed in the last three years is the worst aspect. Captains were changed in the 90s too. But the situation then was different. At that time, some players were banned for match-fixing allegations and the captaincy was also changed.'

Rashid Latif says, 'Babar Azam himself might be very eager to become captain. He has just managed to regain his form.'

'The decision to make him captain is actually short-term. It will take the cricket board six months to a year to find another captain. Since the board handed over the captaincy to Shaheen Afridi, Shadab, Shan Masood, and Rizwan, the team's performance has been declining.'

• Friends and Distance

At one time, there was a deep friendship between Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi. For this reason, when there was talk of removing Babar Azam from captaincy in 2022, Shaheen Afridi openly supported him on social media. He clearly wrote that such a thing should not even be thought of.

The Pakistan Cricket Board had expressed strong dissatisfaction with his post. But later came a time when Shaheen Afridi was removed from captaincy and Babar Azam was made captain again.

The board issued a statement in which Shaheen Afridi's support and cooperation towards Babar Azam were discussed. Shaheen Afridi reacted strongly to this matter and disregarded any such statement. It was not difficult to guess that this captaincy turned their closeness into distance.

• Ever-Changing Faces of Captains

Changing captains is not surprising in Pakistan cricket. This is why former Australian captain Ian Chappell said that people change their clothes as quickly as they change captains in Pakistan cricket.

The continuous change in captains over the last three years has brought Pakistan cricket to a peculiar situation.

Babar Azam was first made captain of the Pakistan team in 2019. However, he decided to step down from captaincy after the 2023 ODI World Cup. At that time, the Pakistan Cricket Board had offered him to continue as captain of the Test team. But he did not accept it. After that, Shaheen Afridi was made captain of the T-20 team and Shan Masood was made captain of the Test team.

Shaheen Shah Afridi captained in only one series. After losing the T-20 series in New Zealand, he was removed from captaincy. This was a surprising decision.

Babar Azam was reappointed captain of the limited-overs cricket in March 2024. However, after a disappointing performance in the ICC T-20 World Cup in October 2024, he announced his resignation from captaincy. The Pakistan Cricket Board appointed Mohammad Rizwan as the captain of ODI cricket in his place. Also, Salman Ali Agha was made the captain of T-20 cricket.

After a disappointing performance in the Champions Trophy in October 2025, Rizwan was removed from ODI captaincy. Shaheen Afridi was handed over the captaincy in his place, who is currently holding the captaincy.

Looking at Mohammad Rizwan's ODI captaincy, under his leadership, Pakistan's ODI team won ODI series in Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. He played the finals of triangular ODI series against New Zealand and South Africa. But again, the team was eliminated from the first round of the ICC Champions Trophy and lost the ODI series in the West Indies. After that, he was removed from captaincy.

Shaheen Afridi, who became the ODI captain in place of Mohammad Rizwan, has so far won series against South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Australia, while losing against Bangladesh. It is not difficult to infer from this that no captain was allowed to captain freely and with confidence.

• Imam-ul-Haq also wants to be captain

Opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq of Pakistan also wants to captain the Pakistani team. He expressed this desire in an interview with a TV channel. He said that if offered the captaincy, he would definitely accept it.

It is Imam-ul-Haq's right to have desires, but it should also be considered that despite playing 27 Test and 75 ODI internationals, he has not been able to secure a permanent place in the team.

• Advocacy for Shadab Khan

In this turmoil of Pakistan cricket captaincy, the name of Shadab Khan is also being mentioned prominently. His father-in-law Saqlain Mushtaq is seen advocating for him to be made captain again on TV channels.

On the other hand, all-rounder Imad Wasim, who plays with him, has also come forward in his support. He says that this is the right time to hand over the T-20 captaincy to Shadab Khan. Imad's argument is that he is the only one left for captaincy now, and there is no other option besides him.

In Shadab Khan's case, he was dropped from the team due to a very disappointing performance in the 2023 50-over World Cup. After that, after three years, he was suddenly selected for the home ODI series against Australia this year, in which he took only two wickets in three matches.

Looking at his performance in T-20 Internationals, he took only five wickets in six matches of the ICC T-20 World Cup this year. But now, it seems that the path is being paved for him to replace Salman Ali Agha as captain.

Although Salman Ali Agha has captained in 50 T-20 Internationals so far, winning 31 matches and losing 18, he is still the captain.

It is no secret that Shadab Khan is close to Pakistan's white-ball cricket head coach Mike Hesson. One reason for this is that both have played together for the Pakistan Super League team Islamabad United. If the Pakistan Cricket Board removes Salman Ali Agha and makes Shadab Khan the T-20 captain, no one should be surprised by this decision.

• Selectors Also Keep Changing

In Pakistan cricket, along with captains, selectors and head coaches also keep changing continuously. Whoever becomes the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board appoints his trusted people to these positions.

During Najam Sethi's tenure, former Test opener Mohammad Wasim was removed from the post of chief selector and Shahid Afridi was made interim chief selector. Just a month later, Haroon Rasheed, a former Test cricketer, was appointed in place of Shahid Afridi.

After Najam Sethi, Zaka Ashraf became the board chief, and Inzamam-ul-Haq also became the chief selector for a few months. However, he had to resign from this post due to allegations of conflict of interest. After Zaka Ashraf left, Mohsin Naqvi became the chairman of the board.

In March 2024, the first selection committee formed during his tenure had seven members: Wahab Riaz, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Yousuf, Asad Shafiq, and Bilal Afzal. Captains and coaches of every format were also included. However, Mohammad Yousuf left the committee in September.

In October 2024, a new selection committee was formed. It included Aqib Javed, Aleem Dar, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, and Hasan Cheema. Last year, Azhar Ali and this year Aleem Dar also resigned from the selection committee. Recently, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Misbah-ul-Haq have been included in the selection committee.

Now this four-member selection committee includes Aqib Javed, Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Sarfaraz Ahmed. But no one is the chief selector.

• Frequently Changing Coaches

The faces of the head coaches have also changed rapidly in the last few years. Currently, Sarfaraz Ahmed is the selector for the Pakistan Test team as well as the head coach.

The head coach of Pakistan's limited-overs team is Mike Hesson from New Zealand. He took over as head coach in May 2025. Before him, Gary Kirsten resigned after six months despite a two-year contract, after which Aqib Javed was made interim head coach.

Apart from Gary Kirsten, Jason Gillespie also resigned from the post of head coach of Pakistan's red-ball cricket. Both accused undue interference in their work. Gillespie also named Aqib Javed in this matter.

Aqib Javed has also served as the interim head coach of red-ball cricket. Currently, he is the director of the High-Performance Center and is considered the most influential official in the current structure.

Grant Bradburn from New Zealand was also the head coach of Pakistan for some time. He took over this post from Saqlain Mushtaq when Mickey Arthur was the team director. Mickey Arthur and Bradburn did not go on the tour of Australia, so Mohammad Hafeez was appointed in their place as team director. However, Hafeez never appeared again after that tour.

Former all-rounder Azhar Mahmood also served as the interim head coach of the Pakistan Test team during the home series against South Africa last year.

Despite these continuous changes, it is not difficult to infer how the Pakistan team can achieve good results through clear strategy and training. And, it is also clear how much the change of captains has affected the team's performance.

Pakistan is currently ranked seventh in the ICC Test rankings, fifth in the ODI rankings, and sixth in the T-20 rankings.

(Published by Collective Newsroom for BBC)