"I offered to retain Babar Azam as the captain for red-ball cricket"

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf has revealed that he wanted to retain Babar Azam as the white-ball skipper. However, the right-handed batter wanted to remain captain across formats or step down completely.

The Lahore-born cricketer stepped down as captain across formats in late 2023 after the World Cup in India. However, the PCB recently reinstated him as the white-ball captain, replacing Shaheen Shah Afridi in T20Is after only one series.

Speaking to reporters in Lahore, Aahraf recalled advising Babar to feature only as a player, given that he found it challenging to handle the pressure of captaincy. As quoted by Cricket Pakistan.pk, he stated:

"I offered to retain Babar Azam as the captain for red-ball cricket, but we wanted to appoint a new captain white-ball cricket. He responded by stating that if he were to be replaced as captain in one format, he would rather step down from captaincy in all formats. Consequently, I suggested that he should focus on playing as a team member for Pakistan, as it was clear that he was finding it challenging to cope with the pressure of captaincy."

The Pakistan men's cricket team recently participated in a training program in Kakul with the country's army to have their fitness levels upgraded.

Babar Azam and Co. to resume national duty in the T20I series against New Zealand

Pakistan national cricket team. (Credits: Getty)

The Men In Green will start preparing for the T20 World Cup 2024 with a five-game T20I series against New Zealand, beginning on April 18 in Rawalpindi. They will also play three T20Is each against Ireland and England ahead of the showpiece event.

Pakistan are clubbed in Group A with India, Ireland, and the USA. They reached the semi-finals and finals at the last two T20 World Cups, respectively. Their only title came in 2009 when they beat Sri Lanka in the final at Lord's.