Musical chairs for Pakistan captaincy begins again

Pakistan recently suffered their first series loss to Afghanistan in international cricket.

In one of the press conferences during the aforementioned series, Shadab said that "now everyone would have understood the importance of Babar and Rizwan".

This statement of Shadab didn’t go well with the board, and now there are talks of removing him from the post of vice-captain in limited-overs format.

When contacted in this regard, an official from the board said that the performance of the Pakistan team under the leadership of Shadab was not satisfactory, and some of his decisions were also not timely and correct.Although no final decision has been taken to remove him from the vice-captaincy post, but even if it is done, the reason will be on cricketing grounds.

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However, Shadab also did not get the players he wanted as a captain. The selectors did not take his opinion into account while choosing the squad. He was also informed very late about the captaincy transition. Shadab stands the ground that it is not right to blame the defeat solely on him.

According to sources, Shan Masood is not included in the vice-captaincy race. Previously, when he was made vice-captain in the home series against New Zealand, there was a storm; Babar and then chief selector Shahid Afridi did not even play him in the initial matches. Now Shan himself wants to stay away from the captaincy and concentrate on his game.

Imad Wasim is supported by a senior figure in the board, but Babar does not like him. There were differences in the PSL between them. Imad performed well in the series against Afghanistan. The performance of Karachi Kings in the PSL under his leadership was, however, not satisfactory as his team finished fifth among six teams.

Sources further said that Shaheen Shah Afridi is a strong candidate to become the vice-captain. He has made Lahore Qalandars the champion of PSL for two years in a row. The interesting thing is that, at this time, half of the team is swinging the captaincy cycle. The board is being held responsible for forcing Babar Azam to rest and appointing Shan as his deputy without even asking. Babar is not happy with the current situation but is keeping his mouth shut to avoid conflict.

When contacted in this regard, former Test wicketkeeper Rashid Latif said that there is a lot of confusion regarding the captaincy at the moment. PCB should resolve this issue soon. While announcing the squad for New Zealand series, the captain should also be appointed until the World Cup. To a question, he said that the vice-captain has no importance; even if Mickey Arthur is appointed as the VC, it wouldn't matter.