Aaqib Javed: “Shaheen’s approach is positive and he plays fearless cricket. I think he should lead the T20 side as the captain. And Babar should continue in Tests and ODIs”
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Aaqib Javed, the Lahore Qalandars head coach, believes Pakistan should adopt a split captaincy model involving Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Azam currently leads the men in green in all three formats of the game, but Aaqib wants that to change going forward.
He noted that the 28-year-old should continue captaining Pakistan in Tests and ODIs, while Afridi should be handed the reins in T20Is.
The 23-year-old does have leadership experience as he led the Qalandars to consecutive titles in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2022 and 2023.
“I’ll talk from a pure cricketing perspective. Babar should stay the captain in Test and one-day formats,” Aaqib was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan. “Now that we don’t have a lot of T20 cricket in the near future, Shaheen should lead the national side as a captain, keeping the World Cup in prospect. Even during that time, we might have one more PSL underway.
“Shaheen’s approach is positive and he plays fearless cricket. I think he should lead the T20 side as the captain. And Babar should continue in Tests and ODIs.”
Pakistan will now travel to Sri Lanka to play two Test matches, which will be held in Galle and Colombo from July 16 to 28.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Test Series:Â Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood