Babar Azam Returns Pakistan Test Captain Shan Masood Sacked

Shan Masood has been sacked as Pakistan Test captain, with former skipper Babar Azam once again appointed to lead the side, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Sunday.

Babar will captain the team in the two-Test series against West Indies in the Caribbean starting July 25, and will also lead in the three-match Test series against England from August 19 as part of the ongoing World Test Championship.

Aaqib Javed, Pakistan’s high-performance director, explained that the decision to change the captaincy was driven by the repetitive nature of Pakistan’s Test defeats and their inability to recover from losing positions. He noted that while the team had been involved in several close matches under Masood’s leadership, certain recurring issues remained unaddressed.

“We saw many close Test matches (under Shan’s captaincy). But a few things were not being addressed. Like the Centurion Test, South Africa’s two batters at No. 10 [for the tenth wicket] put on a 60-70 run partnership (51 runs). The game was in our hands. Against the West Indies in Multan, in the second Test, the team was rolled over easily,” Javed was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.

“Shan’s own performance during his tenure has been good, but as captain, he has not been able to bring the desired results. We wanted to look for a captain who comes in and leads the team better,” added Javed.

A 16-member squad has been named for the West Indies series, while a 17-member squad has been announced for the England tour. Saud Shakeel has been included as the 17th member for the England series, subject to fitness clearance.

There have been further notable changes to the squad that suffered a 2-0 whitewash in Bangladesh in May, with senior players Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, and Noman Ali all being left out.

Four uncapped players have been named in the squads: left-arm spinner Ali Usman, right-handed batter Muhammad Awais Zafar, right-arm fast bowler Ubaid Shah, and wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Ghazi Ghori – all in contention for their first Test cap.

Pakistan currently sit ninth in the World Test Championship standings.

Babar Azam (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam ul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah

Babar Azam (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam ul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah

First Test: July 25-29, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba Second Test: August 2-6, Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain

First Test: August 19-23, Leeds Second Test: August 27-31, Lord’s Third Test: September 9-13, Birmingham

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