Abbottabad: After a late night meeting on Friday between selectors and PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi; selectors are on their way to the military academy Kakul in Abbottabad to meet with star Pakistani batsman Babar Azam and convince him to take the captaincy slot in all formats for the national cricket team.
As per reliable sources, the team of selectors will be in Kakul to persuade Babar Azam to take up the role of captain for T20Is and all other formats, replacing the current captain Shaheen Shah Afridi.
“The decision emerged from a late-night meeting between Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi and the selectors,” the source confirmed.
As per details, the selectors will be convincing Babar Azam to become captain of the national cricket team until the upcoming T20I World Cup. On the other hand, Babar Azam is more interested in entering into a long-term position as captain, which should not be limited till the T20I World Cup.
“Babar has already communicated to the PCB that he wishes to lead the national team across all formats and has kept it as a pre-condition to consider captaincy in the T20I format,” the source revealed.
Sources close to the star batsmen have also advised Babar Azam to push his demands in front of the PCB as this is the right time.
“PCB is vulnerable right now. They want Babar for the T20I World Cup. And they would have to agree with his demands because of the board’s vulnerable position,” said the source.
While the PCB selectors are discussing the next T20I captain and reaching out to Babar Azam; the current captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has been kept in the dark on the PCB decision.
“There is a clear lack of communication between the PCB and Shaheen Shah Afridi, which is concerning. None of the selectors nor the PCB Chairman himself have reached out to Shaheen Shah Afridi in refence to the ongoing discussion about his replacement,” the source added.
But the news about a probable change has raised eyebrows among many, who have criticised the PCB for being silent on the matter and letting rumours and speculations take up the space in debates.
Former cricketer Shahid Afridi has said that it would be unfair to remove Shaheen Shah Afridi, that also after he lead the team in only one series.
Shaheen Afridi has been actively gearing up for the upcoming World Cup and has played pivotal role in convincing Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir to return to international cricket and take back their retirements.
It was said that Shaheen had reached out to both the cricketers and bring them back into the squad to enhance national team’s performance.
But the way Shaheen has been kept in the dark about his probable replacement from the captaincy position has certainly raised questions over the working mechanisms of the PCB.
(IANS)
