LAHORE: Defending Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to re-appoint Babar Azam as national Test captain, Pakistan’s director of high performance Aqib Javed said the move was prompted by persistent leadership and game management issues rather than individual performance.
Speaking during a recent podcast with former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, Javed said the board believes Babar is the right candidate to provide long-term stability as Pakistan prepares for challenging Test tours of the West Indies and England.
Explaining the rationale behind the decision, the former Pakistan fast bowler said the team’s inability to get the opposition talent out in different situations highlighted deep leadership concerns.
“We have brought back Babar Azam because the same problems kept coming. Be it in Australia, South Africa, the West Indies or, more recently, Bangladesh, the opposition’s tailenders continued to frustrate us. The conditions and the bowlers changed, but the result remained the same.
The 53-year-old outlined the management’s long-term vision, expressed confidence in Babur’s leadership skills and revealed that the PCB intends to support him for the next two to three years.
“I believe Babur is mature enough to lead the team again. He is one of our key players and our plan is to captain him for two to three years. Every captain brings a new mentality and we expect him to inspire the team with his own performance,” he said.
The comments came after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed Babar’s return as Pakistan’s Test captain for the upcoming tours of the West Indies and England.
The 31-year-old captained Pakistan in 20 Tests between 2020 and 2023, with Shaun Masood recording four wins and 12 losses in 16-matches, giving him a 25 per cent win rate.
Masood’s captaincy began with a 3-0 series defeat in Australia and ended after a disappointing 2-0 loss to Bangladesh in May this year. His only successive win was a 2-1 home win against England in 2024.
Pakistan are scheduled to leave for the West Indies on July 13, where they will play a four-day practice match from July 18 before a two-Test series in Trinidad and Tobago from July 25 to 29 and August 2 to 6.
Following the Caribbean tour, Pakistan travel to England for a three-match Test series. The opening Test will be played at Headingley, Leeds from August 19 to 23, while the second Test will be played at Lord’s from August 27 to 31.
The series will conclude with the third and final Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham from September 9 to 13.