News Desk
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named Babar Azam as new Test captain of the team on Tuesday. He has replaced Azhar Ali, who led Pakistan to a 1-0 series defeat in England this year.
Babar Azam is now in charge of teams across all formats. He is the third Pakistan Test captain in 13 months after Sarfaraz Ahmed was sacked in October last year.
PCB said in a statement that the decision was confirmed after subsequent meetings with Azhar Ali and Babar Azam. The Chairman of PCB, Ehsan Mani said, “As we are looking into the future, it is appropriate that we appoint him the captain now so that he continues to grow stronger with every match. I wish Babar all the best and remain optimistic that he will help Pakistan cricket make an upward movement across all formats not only through his performance but also with his positive attitude and result-oriented approach.”
The Chairman further added, “I believe Azhar still has a lot of cricket left in him and Pakistan cricket can continue to make the best use of his experience and knowledge as specialist top-order batsman moving forward.”
The 26-year-old’s is currently ranks among the top five batsmen in all three formats. His first assignment as Test skipper will be the ICC World Test Championship matches against New Zealand. Those matches will be played in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch from December 26-30 and January 3-7, respectively.
Babar Azam said that he is feeling truly honoured to have been appointed Test captain and join some of the most iconic players who have captained Pakistan in the purest format of the game. He said that he is ready and prepared to take up the additional responsibility.
“The fact which gives me additional confidence is that I can do the job is the experience that is available to me in the changing room in the shape of the players and support staff,” he added.
He also thanked his predecessor Azhar Ali for taking up the difficult task of captaining the Test team.
