The
Pakistan Cricket Board
(
PCB
) and coach Jason Gillespie have decided to retain
Shan Masood
as the national team's Test captain for the upcoming international season.
However, the decision regarding Babar Azam's leadership role in the white-ball formats has been deferred for the time being.
Pakistan
is set to host England for a three-match Test series in October, and the team is also scheduled to play against Bangladesh, South Africa and the West Indies in the near future.
On Wednesday, the PCB conducted a meeting in Lahore, which was attended by senior board officials, national selectors, Gillespie, white-ball formats coach Gary Kirsten and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood. The purpose of the meeting was to analyze Pakistan's disappointing performance in the recent T20 World Cup held in the Americas.
“The meeting was held to discuss ways to move forward with a comprehensive blueprint for the national team in red- and white-ball formats,” a source in the know told PTI.
Masood was reportedly backed by everyone to continue as Test captain
“Shan got the support at the meeting to continue as Test captain for the upcoming series against Bangladesh, England, South Africa and the West Indies between August and January,” said the source.
PCB recently held a meeting to discuss the team's performance, but no conclusion was reached regarding Babar's leadership in the limited-overs format. Despite this, his captaincy and batting performance were heavily scrutinized during the meeting.
Babar faced scrutiny for his inadequate display of fortitude and command when the team needed him most, as per the source. His leadership capabilities were called into question, especially during the high-stakes T20 World Cup.
In a related development, Sarfraz Nawaz, a former Pakistani fast bowler, demanded the removal of the entire selection committee. He argued that the selectors had demonstrated "collective incompetence" not only during the ICC tournament but also in the events leading up to it.
“The selection committee has worked collectively and should be sacked collectively for their failure and incompetence,” said Nawaz.
“I am on record to have written letters to Zaka (Ashraf) and (Mohsin) Naqvi regarding Wahab's suspected past and his lack of abilities as an administrator. Nobody paid heed to my suggestion. I knew well that Wahab was not capable of delivering in any capacity, yet he was made selector, advisor and manager. On all fronts he failed,” he said.
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