The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Sunday that Babar Azam has been reinstated as the captain of the national team for T20I and one-day internationals (ODIs).
The decision to change leadership comes just before the Green Shirts’ five-match T20I series against New Zealand, set to commence on April 18.
“Babar Azam appointed as white-ball captain,” the PCB announced on X, formerly Twitter.
“Following unanimous recommendation from the PCB’s selection committee, Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi has appointed Babar Azam as white-ball (ODI and T20I) captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team.”
Babar concluded his lengthy tenure as skipper last November when he resigned from the role.
The former captain faced criticism for several months after Pakistan’s underperformance in the Asia Cup and the subsequent disappointment in the World Cup, where they failed to progress to the semi-finals.
Babar, 29, previously held the position of white-ball captain in 2019 and was appointed Test skipper in 2020. However, Pakistan did not secure any ICC or Asia Cup titles under his leadership.
Following this, Shaheen Shah Afridi was appointed white-ball captain by the PCB under Zaka Ashraf after the team’s disappointing performance in the ICC World Cup 2023.
Meanwhile, Shan Masood was appointed as the red-ball captain by the previous management.
Babar Azam has represented the national side in 52 Tests, 117 ODIs, and 109 T20Is. He has captained the team in 71 T20 matches, including the T20 World Cup, leading them to victory in 42 matches while facing defeat in 23 matches.
