After Babar Azam's second resignation in under a year, who should take over as Pakistan's captain in white-ball cricket?
In the early hours of Wednesday (October 2), Babar Azam announced his resignation as Pakistan's white-ball skipper via social media, for the second time in under a year. Babar's previous resignation had come following a disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign for his side.
On that occasion, the red-ball captaincy had been given to Shan Masood, who remains in the role for now and the white-ball captaincy to Shaheen Afridi who was skipper for one T20I series against New Zealand earlier this year before Babar returned to the helm.
But the latest announcement means that once again, Pakistan are looking for a new captain in the T20I and ODI formats. They could appoint the same player to lead in both formats, or take a relatively less-explored path and appoint different captains for each one.
Either way, here is a look at a few who could be in line to take over.
Mohammad Rizwan
Rizwan was appointed as Pakistan's T20I vice-captain when Shaheen took over from Babar earlier this year. However, he was not formally given this duty when Pakistan went to the Caribbean for the T20 World Cup as Pakistan did not name a deputy for the tournament.
There have been questions around Rizwan's approach with the bat in T20 cricket, but that is something he shares with Babar and it is difficult to pick out much else against him in his playing record. Rizwan is an automatic pick in both white-ball formats, which is perhaps the most basic requirement for the captain of any team.
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He has led Pakistan in two Test matches before, but never led them in limited-overs cricket. He was the captain of UMT Markhors in the recently-concluded Champions Cup in Pakistan, and has captained three different teams – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar and Multan Sultans – in T20 cricket, with an excellent record.
Rizwan's status in the team as a senior player is another point in his favour, but the fact that he has hardly led the national team even when regular skippers have been unavailable may indicate Pakistan are not overly keen on him as a captain.
Shaheen Afridi
Another player who captained in the Champions Cup, Shaheen's Lions side finished with just one win in four matches under his captaincy. His time in the Pakistan Super League as a captain was excellent, as he led Lahore Qalandars to back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. However, this was marred by a 2024 campaign which saw them finish bottom of the table with just one win in ten matches.
Between the latest PSL season, the Champions Cup and his hasty removal as skipper after the 4-1 series loss to New Zealand, Shaheen's chances of being named the white-ball captain may have taken a nosedive.
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It does not help his chances that his form has dipped in recent months (primarily in red-ball cricket, although that will likely go against him as well). As a fast bowler, Shaheen is also liable to be rested quite often, and injured if he is not.
It is unlikely he gets a second crack at this job right now, but Pakistan's board remain unpredictable, and he could be a shock appointment.
Shadab Khan
A slight wildcard pick as Babar's replacement could be leg-spinner Shadab Khan. He is no longer the supreme talent, or premier all-rounder he once appeared to be but remains a valuable prospect in T20 cricket at least. As a wrist-spinner who can bat at a good level, he is more often than not likely to be in Pakistan's starting XI.
The sticking point from Shadab's point of view is his recent form. He was not quite up to the mark in the most recent 50-over and 20-over World Cups, but did enjoy a solid season in the Lanka Premier League.
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If Pakistan are considering Shadab as a captaincy candidate, at least in T20Is, they might be put off by his tendency to blow hot and cold, form-wise. But if they are willing to look past that and give it to him regardless, the additional responsibility could help him improve on the consistency front.
His record as a skipper in T20 cricket seems to indicate that could be the case. He has, however, led Pakistan on six occasions before without much success.
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