Pakistan eyeing three captain approach in coming days, Babar to give way?

The
Pakistan
Cricket
Board
(PCB)
recently
ousted
Ramiz
Raja
as
the
PCB
chairman
and
Najaf
Sethi
has
come
back
at
the
helm.
Also,
Shahid
Afridi
was
selected
as
the
interim
chief
selector
for
the
time
being.

And
amid
all
the
off-field
changes,
it
looks
like
the
effect
of
fresh
air
is
set
to
come
within
the
22
yards.
According
to
reports,
Pakistan
are
eyeing
to
opt
for
different
captain
in
different
formats.

Babar
Azam
is
the
current
Pakistan
captain
who
lead
them
in
all
formats.
But
there
is
news
that
this
may
change
soon
and
the
coveted
Pakistani
batter
may
have
to
give
away
chunk
of
his
captaincy
roles.

Pakistani
outlet

Express
News
says
that
Babar
Azam
will
only
retain
his
T20I
duties
as
captain.
It
is
being
reported
that
Shan
Masood
will
get
the
ODI
captaincy,
while
Sarfaraz
Ahmed
may
get
another
stint
as
Pakistan’s
leader
in
Tests.

Babar
Azam
Captaincy
Record:

Babar
has
been
a
decent
captain
for
Pakistan,
leading
them
in
all
formats
for
the
past
couple
of
years
or
so.

Sarfaraz
to
Return
as
Test
Captain:

Sarfaraz
made
his
return
to
Test
cricket
after
a
long
time
and
was
the
best
Pakistani
player
in
the
Test
series
against
New
Zealand.
The
wicketkeeper-batter
scored
335
runs
in
two
matches,
and
was
given
the
Player
of
the
Series
award.
He
has
already
captained
Pakistan
in
13
Tests,
winning
4
of
them.

Former
South
Africa
coach
Mickey
Arthur
has
been
offered
the
Pakistan
coach
job
and
he
is
yet
to
take
a
decision
on
that.
Arthur
has
coached
Pakistan
before
and
may
return
to
his
old
duties
as
Saqlain
Mushtaq
looks
set
to
be
relieved
after
the
New
Zealand
ODIs.
And
Mickey
Arthur
personally
has
approved
the
appointment
of
Shan
Masood,
who
looks
like
a
frontrunner
as
the
next
ODI
captain
for
Pakistan.

Is
it
the
Right
Decision?

Although
it
is
a
topic
to
discuss
only
if
Pakistan
go
with
the
multiple-captain
approach,
but
it
can
be
chaotic
for
them.
Pakistan
haven’t
always
been
the
perfect
takers
of
radical
change,
and
squad
harmony
and
proper
team
spirit
can
be
a
huge
issue
if
they
go
with
it.

Babar
Azam
has
guided
them
well
across
all
formats.
Pakistan
reached
the
semi-finals
of
the
T20
World
Cup
2021,
and
then
reached
the
final
last
year.
They
also
reached
the
final
of
the
T20
Asia
Cup
in
the
middle
of
2022.
Although
they
have
not
yet
tasted
glory
under
Azam’s
captaincy,
but
definitely
they
have
taken
steps
forward.

Changing
that
will
mean
fresh
opinions
and
a
different
vision,
but
that
can
harm
the
stability
that
the
Pakistan
team
has
attained
under
Babar.