Misbah-ul-Haq opens up on Pakistan’s T20I captaincy change

Former captain Misbah-ul-Haq recently opened up about the recent change in Pakistan’s T20I leadership, which saw Babar Azam replacing Shaheen Afridi as captain.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday reinstated Babar Azam as the white-ball captain of the national team ahead of the upcoming home T20I series against New Zealand.

Misbah-ul-Haq expressed his concerns about the way the captaincy change was managed, describing it as an unpleasant process.

“The process of changing captain in Pakistan is extremely unpleasant and this affects the players and the team,” the former captain remarked while talking to media in Lahore.

The former head coach emphasized that Babar Azam was previously removed as captain in the wrong way, and now the same has happened with Shaheen Afridi.

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“Babar was removed from captaincy in the wrong manner and so was Shaheen Afridi. Both are our star players and my best wishes are with the team and I hope they perform well.”

For the unversed, Afridi succeeded Babar Azam as the T20I captain of the national team, following their dismal campaign at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

However, the left-arm pacer had a short tenure as captain, during which Pakistan suffered a 4-1 defeat to New Zealand in the only series under his leadership.

Meanwhile, Babar Azam’s first assignment during his second tenure will be a five-match home T20I series against New Zealand, commencing on April 18 in Rawalpindi.

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