table of contents
The Pakistan national cricket team will tour the Caribbean Islands to play the West Indies national cricket team for two Test matches starting on July 25. Ahead of the series, Pakistan removed their Test captain Shan Masood and made Babar Azam the captain of the team once again. Under Shan Masood, the Men in Green started off with a 3-0 defeat in Australia.
They only managed a win against England at home, followed by a defeat to the Bangladesh national cricket team at home and then a defeat against the same opponent away from home. For the first time, Bangladesh defeated them in the Test series in Pakistan. Next, they lost 2–0 to South Africa and drew 1–1 against West Indies at home.
Shan Masood’s record as captain
Shan Masood was good as a batsman, but his captaincy was disappointing, and thus he was removed from the leadership role; Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) handed over the captaincy to its experienced campaigner Babar Azam. Pakistan cricket is under immense pressure as they are even lower than Bangladesh in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 cycle with three losses in four matches.
Masood captained Pakistan in 16 Test matches between 2023 and 2026, registering 4 wins and 12 losses. During his tenure, he scored at an average of 34. He scored 1056 runs as a captain and scored two centuries and seven fifties during his tenure. However, as a player he is still in the team.
“I would have filed a written complaint” – Ramiz Raja supports Shan Masood
Many former cricketers and experts have criticized Pakistan for its poor performance under the leadership of Shan Masood in Test cricket. However, former chief executive officer (CEO) and former chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja has come out in support of former Test captain Masood.
Ramiz Raja believes that Masood was provided with an average team, and the PCB did not give him much support in his captaincy; Thus, the results were not in the Pakistan team’s favor, and he revealed that if he had been in Masood’s place, he filed a complaint against Mohsin Naqvi’s PCB after his removal as captain.
Ramiz Raja said, “If I were in Shan Masood’s place, I would have filed a written complaint. They keep giving me mediocre talent, and that’s why the results are affected. It’s because I don’t have enough talent in the team.”
Babar Azam’s captaincy record
Babar Azam has been excellent as a Test captain, as he already had a productive Test record. In his first tenure, Babar led Pakistan in 20 Test matches, winning ten of them. His captaincy began with a 2–0 home win over South Africa and he led Pakistan to clean sweeps over Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Babar’s second stint will begin later this month with a two-Test series against the West Indies, followed by a three-Test series in England. As a captain, he has an excellent batting record in Tests, with an average of over 50 and 1727 runs, including four centuries and 11 half-centuries.
