It’s the start of the line for future captains and the end of the line for Babar Azam’s captaincy, as now the maverick batter has not been able to win a single ICC trophy in the last three ICC tournaments, nor a single Asia Cup in the last two ACC tournaments.
The discussion on the next captain of the Pakistan cricket team had already started when Babar Azam announced his resignation, meanwhile, PCB didn’t take any chances and announced the leaders for the Pakistan Cricket Team.
PCB announced Shan Masood and Shaheen Shah Afridi as the captains of the Red and White ball format, respectively, earlier today.
Also read: Pakistan’s Tactical Conundrum: Analyzing Babar Azam’s Choices
Critical Analysis of Both the Chosen Future Captains of PCT:
Shaheen Afridi
Captaincy Format Experience: T20
Teams Captained: Lahore Qalanders
Shaheen Afridi has come out to be a popular option for the captaincy position, especially after winning back-to-back PSLs for Lahore Qalanders, a team that was known for coming dead last before 2022.
Having shown calmness with his young bowlers, Shaheen also has the backing of the likes of Aqib Javed and Shahid Afridi. In fact, he almost got the job earlier this year during the Afghanistan series.
However, having no captaincy experience in First Class and List A can expose Shaheen’s inexperience in captaincy, and by making him a T20I captain, Pakistan will need more captains for the other formats.
Shan Masood
Captaincy Format Experience: Test, ODIs, and T20
Teams Captained: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Southern Punjab, Bagh Stallions, Yorkshire County Club
Shan Masood, a proficient left-hand opener, earned his spot in the international cricket scene through consistent performances in junior-level cricket. Recognized at the age of 13, he showcased his talent in the U-15 Asia Cup in 2002. Masood’s debut in first-class cricket in 2007 was promising, scoring 54 and forming a notable partnership of 154 with Asad Shafiq. His success extended to England, where he excelled for Stamford school in 2009, setting a school record with 1237 runs at an average of 103. He also faced formidable bowlers in three first-class games for Durham University.
Returning to Pakistan, Masood had an impressive home season in 2012-13, scoring 543 runs at an average of 54.30. This performance earned him a call-up to open the batting for Pakistan in the Test series against South Africa.
Here are the other options who could have been the Future Captains For Pakistan!
Mohammad Rizwan
Captaincy Format Experience: Test, ODI and T20
Teams Captained: Peshawar Region, SNGPL, KPK, Federal Areas and Multan Sultans
Rizwan was the ideal candidate for being one of the Future Captains of Pakistan cricket. Unlike Babar, Rizwan has had experience of captaining different domestic sides in First Class and List A games. Having held positions as stand-in captain for SNGPL and a full-time captaincy position with Peshawar Region, Rizwan has learned the tricks of the trade over the years with these teams.
Having captained the mighty SNGPL in the absence of Misbah and Hafeez, places lots of credibility behind Rizwan’s candidacy, as SNGPL stood undefeated during their 2017 Quaid e Azam trophy season under their three captains.
Even with Peshawar Region and Multan Sultans, Rizwan has shown good decision-making when it comes to tactical decisions.
Saud Shakeel
Captaincy Format Experience: First Class and List A
Teams Captained: Karachi Region, Sindh and Pakistan A
Saud has announced himself as a batsman who should be considered in the team for the long run. He has had batting performances where he has shown a strong character and resilience. Some might consider giving him the captaincy cap as premature, but unlike many others, Saud had the captaincy experience of domestic cricket.
Having captained Karachi regional teams and the Sindh team, Saud has also learned the art of captaincy through grassroots cricket. His early hands-on experience towards captaincy would come from Karachi White U19 which eventually landed him the captain’s spot in the Pakistan U19 team for the 2014 U19 World Cup.
Saud has also been captaining the Pakistan A team since 2019 and won the ACC Emerging Asia Cup 2019 under him.
Iftikhar Ahmed
Captaincy Format Experience: First Class, List A and T20
Teams Captained: SNGPL, Peshawar Region and KPK
Iftikhar may not be the talk of the town for the captaincy role, but Iftikhar comes with lots of years of experience in cricket. Having shown his ability to captain sides like Peshawar, KPK and SNGPL, Iftikhar could be the underrated candidate that should be discussed.
In 2021, under Ifti’s leadership, KPK defended their National T20 quite successfully, as Ifti led from the front, and showed his cricketing experience with his tactical decisions to help his team to win. Iftikhar would emulate his strategic captaincy in the Quaid e Azam trophy of 2021 where KPK would also emerge as the First Class champions. Iftikhar has also served as vice-captain and captain for SNGPL which lined up many stars of the Pakistani team and could’ve been one of the Future Captains.
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