PCB is Likely to Give Rest to Babar, Source
Sources told us on Wednesday that captain Shan Masood, head coach Jason Gillespie, and the selection committee have started discussing who will play for Pakistan in the Test series against Bangladesh in August.
The current white-ball captain, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi will be rested in the Test matches against Bangladesh. Haris Rauf’s inclusion in the team is not even being thought about.
For the final team, Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, Salman Ali Agha, and former captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed are all being considered.
In the area of fast bowling, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mir Hamza, Khurram Shahzad, and Aamir Jamal are all being considered for the team.
Pakistan will host Bangladesh for two Tests in August. This will be the first time since 2019–2020 that Pakistan has hosted the country. It will be a part of the ICC World Test Championship from 2023 to 2025.
This series will be Gillespie’s first job as head coach of the Pakistan Test team since being hired in April, and it will be Masood’s second job since being hired in late 2016. The first time he led the team, it was against Australia in a three-test series that Pakistan lost 3-0 in Australia.
Masood is the captain of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club and plays for them in the County Championship.
Pakistan was eliminated from the T20 World Cup in the first round of competition, while Bangladesh made it to the Super 8.
Also Read: Its official: Pakistan is Eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2024
New captain?
Former leader of Pakistan’s team that won the 2009 T20 World Cup, Younis Khan, has made an unexpected choice to replace Babar Azam as the team’s next captain.
Khan talked about how he felt about Pakistan’s disappointing T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, which stopped before the Super 8 round. He did this in a recent interview with a local sports platform.
The former cricket player pushed for Fakhar Zaman to take over as leader from Babar Azam.
“If Fakhar Zaman is such a good performer, why can’t he be captain of the team?” He did pretty well in the last 50-over World Cup, right? Which player gave us hope? Khan said, “Zaman had a bad start to the 2023 World Cup in India, but he turned things around in the second half, which matched Pakistan’s success.”
The 46-year-old emphasized Zaman’s sacrifice for the team and said that he was willing to change where he batted for the team’s gain.
“Who is that player on the team who isn’t batting in the first spot but instead at four, five, or six?” Who is giving up his spot? Hi, Fakhar Zaman! He asked, “Why won’t you make him captain?”
It’s important to note that Babar was sent back to being Pakistan’s white-ball captain after being removed from the position for all forms after the 2023 World Cup.
Unfortunately, the Men in Green’s T20 World Cup run ended early, as they were knocked before making it to the Super Eight round. Ireland, the USA, Canada, and India made up Group A with the team, which Babar Azam served as captain.
They lost three games in a row to the co-hosts, the USA, and their biggest foe, India. They did, however, win their last two games in the event, against Canada and Ireland. They ended with two wins and two losses, for a total of four points.
Team Returns Home
Once they were done with the T20 World Cup 2024, Naseem Shah, Usman Khan, and Wahab Riaz arrived in Lahore early Wednesday morning.
On their way back from Florida, USA, they took a private airline trip to get to Lahore Allama Iqbal International Airport.
Some of the people who came back were Naseem Shah, Usman Khan, and Senior Manager Wahab Riaz. But captain Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, and Mohammad Amir were not there.
Babar was going to go home on June 22. According to Amir, he will stay in the US for a few more days before going to England to join Derbyshire. Head Coach Gary Kirsten is planning to go back home after the World Cup mission.
