Men's ODI WC: Sarfaraz, Afridi, Rizwan among players to replace Babar Azam as captain: Report

KARACHI: Sarfaraz Ahmed, Muhammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi are being discussed as potential candidates to replace Babar Azam as Pakistan captain after the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, a source suggested on Tuesday.

Pakistan will be touring Australia for a three-match Test series soon after the ODI World Cup.

Considering the team’s performance in the ongoing ODI World Cup, there is speculation that Babar Azam is feeling the pressure of captaincy and is not able to express himself more as a batter.

"Only if Pakistan can stage a miracle and win all their remaining matches to qualify for the semifinals of this World Cup does Babar stand any chance of surviving as captain and even then he might be relegated to skipper in just the red-ball format," the source, privy to the development, said.

"It is all over for Babar because he has been given unbridled power and authority as captain and more importantly, he has always had players of his choice in the team. There has never been any attempt to reduce his authority and so he is now being held solely responsible for the Asia Cup and World Cup defeats," the source added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Zaka Ashraf met with Pakistan chief selector Inzamam-Ul-Haq, and former players Muhammad Yousuf and Aaqib Javed in Lahore to discuss plans for Pakistan men’s cricket ahead of the Australia tour and T20 World Cup 2024.

Sarfaraz, who is not part of the World Cup squad is the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 winning captain and is more likely to fill the captaincy role both in white and red-ball cricket because of his past experience.

"Sarfaraz might win the nod to captain the Test and ODI sides again while Shaheen may get a chance to be the T20 captain," the source added.