Babar Azam: “I am very happy to be back as captain of Pakistan”
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Babar Azam has admitted that he is excited to be back captaining Pakistan just a few months after stepping down from the leadership role.
The 29-year-old resigned in November 2023 after the men in green had a string of poor results, including in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi took over as T20I skipper, but his tenure lasted just one series before Azam returned to the helm.
In Azam’s first series since coming back as captain, Pakistan drew 2-2 in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
“I am very happy to be back as captain of Pakistan,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In the T20I series against New Zealand, Azam finished with 125 runs in five games, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 31.25 and a strike-rate of 138.88.
Next up for Pakistan will be a three-match T20I series against Ireland from May 10 to 14.
After that, they will play four T20Is against England from May 22 to May 30.
Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan