ISLAMABAD – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),Wasim Khan has said that Babar Azam will hold the post of national team’scaptaincy for a long time.
“I can assure you that until Ehsan Mani [PCB chairman] and myself are inthe Pakistan board, Babar will remain the captain,” Wasim said in aninterview with YouTube channel ‘Cricket Baaz’.
Babar was handed over the reins of team’s stewardship in both limited oversformats last year, with his first assignment in T20Is coming againstAustralia in November 2019, while the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup SuperLeague series against Zimbabwe in November was his first challenge as ODIcaptain.
Wasim Khan revealed that Babar himself wanted the Test captaincy and wasgiven the same after having a discussion with the PCB chief. “Babar himselfshowed keen interest in becoming Test captain and assured us he couldhandle the pressures and it would not affect his batting.
“We felt he [Babar Azam] is our best choice because he has a good future,he’s our best batsman and getting better every day. And we’ve found him tobe mentally very strong when we first tested him as captain in thewhite-ball formats.
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“That’s why when the time came we felt that Azhar Ali had done his best butnow was the time to start grooming Babar and make him Test captain aswell,” Wasim reckoned.
The 26-year-old Babar led the Karachi Kings to victory in therecently-concluded Pakistan Super League 2020. He scored a match-winningunbeaten 63 off 49 balls in the final against Lahore Qalandars. He alsoearned the man-of-the-series award as he ended the season with 473 runs atan impressive average of 59.12 in 11 matches.
Babar’s tenure as Pakistan’s captain in the longest format begins againstNew Zealand in December and January wherein Pakistan are to play threeT20Is and two Tests. The national players are currently observingquarantine in New Zealand.
