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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has removed Shan Masood from the post of Test captain and given this responsibility back to Babar Azam. This will be Babar Azam’s second stint as Pakistan’s Test captain.
The PCB announced the leadership change after Pakistan announced its squad for the two-match Test series against the West Indies as well as the three-match Test series in England.
Shan Masood’s tenure ended due to his poor captaincy record
After a very disappointing record, Shan Masood’s captaincy came to an end. He led Pakistan in 16 Test matches, but the team lost 12 of them and won only four. This was one of the worst performances in Pakistan’s Test history. No captain had lost 12 of his first 16 Test matches.
Under Masood’s captaincy, Pakistan suffered seven consecutive Test defeats, which is the team’s longest defeat in this format. Those disappointing poor results forced the PCB to bring one of its most successful Test captains, Babar Azam, back into the leadership setup.
Misbah-ul-Haq supports Babar Azam after returning to captaincy
Soon after Babar Azam was re-appointed Test captain, former Pakistan captain and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq came out in support of the star batsman. Misbah believes that Babar is still one of the most important players for Pakistan and he should continue to play in all three formats.
He told that many people had questioned Babar’s place in Pakistan’s T20 team due to his form and strike rate. But Misbah feels that Babar answered all those doubts with his performance in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026.
He led Peshawar Zalmi to their second PSL title and finished as the highest run-scorer with 588 runs at an average of 73.50 and a strike rate of 145.91.
Babar Azam’s brilliant PSL 2026 season strengthens his case
The great batsman said that Babar showed in the PSL that he is still a match-winner in T20 cricket. He believes that now it is up to the Pakistan cricket team management to decide how they want to use him in the playing eleven.
On Babar Azam, Misbah-ul-Haq said, “There were question marks over Babar’s selection for the T20 team. However, the way he performed in the PSL, he has proved that he still has value in the shorter format. It depends on how the coaches see him fitting into the composition of the Pakistan team.”
Misbah-ul-Haq says Babar Azam is valuable in every format
Misbah also said that Babar’s quality should not be assessed only by T20 cricket. He told that Babar has already proved himself in ODI cricket and has played many important innings in Test cricket also. However, the veteran batsman believes that Babar can still improve further in the longest format.
He further added, “Babar is valuable in all three formats. He is a player who has established himself in ODIs, and he has proved himself in Test cricket as well, although he needs to improve his performance a bit more. His performance in T20 cricket stands out for all.”
The former Pakistan captain also praised Babar’s batting skills. He believes that Babar is Pakistan’s best batsman in terms of technique and consistency. Misbah signed off by saying, “In my opinion, he is still a very useful player, and you can use him in all three formats. Technically and in terms of consistency, he is the best player.”