Babar resigns as Pakistan captain from ODIs

Karachi: Babar Azam has tendered his resignation for the second time as Pakistan’s captain with Mohammad Rizwan likely to replace him in limited-overs formats later this month. While Babar did not state when he had informed the board and team management about his decision to quit, the 29-year-old said he wanted to focus on his batting while shedding off the workload as a skipper.

“I’m sharing some news with you . I have decided to resign as captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, effective as of my notification to the PCB and Team Management last month,” Babar wrote.

“It’s been an honour to lead this team, but it’s time for me to step down and focus on my playing role,” he added. Babar had quit Pakistan captaincy role after their dismal show in the ODI World Cup in India 2023 but he was reinstated as the skipper in white-ball formats in March this year.

Pakistan could have separate cricket captains in all three formats, given the heavy schedule of the side and the pressure it could put on one white-ball skipper, according to sources.

The PCB was expected to hand over Babar Azam ODI captaincy as well for the upcoming white-ball matches.

Insiders suggest that it would not be easy for white-ball head coach, Gary Kirsten or the selection committee to appoint the next captain in the shorter formats. “Muhammad Rizwan is the obvious choice for the white-ball captaincy given that, along with Babar, he is the only player who is an automatic selection in all formats of the game,” said an insider. “But things are not so simple because, with the hectic international calendar of the team, the workload on Rizwan is a worrying factor for red-ball coach, Jason Gillespie, Kirsten, the PCB and the selectors,” he added. Rizwan, Babar and Shaheen Shah Afridi are all-format players, so workload management is going to be a big issue. Pakistan are scheduled to play 18 ODIs and T20I in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa between November and December, which will be followed by a two-Test series in South Africa.