Initially, Mohammad Rizwan was considered a frontrunner to replace Shaheen, with Babar Azam also in contention. However, recent developments have positioned Babar as the primary candidate for the captaincy once again. PCB officials are nearing a decision to appoint him to the role.
Babar Azam had relinquished his white-ball captaincy after the 2023 World Cup, with Shaheen Afridi taking over the T20I leadership. Following his removal from T20I captaincy, Babar also stepped down from red-ball leadership, leading to Shan Masood’s appointment as Test captain. Pakistan’s performance suffered, notably losing all three Tests in Australia and facing a 1-4 defeat in the T20I series in New Zealand.
Since then, there has been a change in PCB leadership, with Mohsin Naqvi taking over as chairman from Zaka Ashraf. Naqvi hinted at a potential change in captaincy during his recent press conference in Lahore.
