Captains
LAHORE: On Wednesday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Shan Masood as the Test captain and Shaheen Shah Afridi as the captain for T20 Internationals (T20Is). The PCB shared this information on X (formerly Twitter), presenting Masood, a left-handed batter, as the Test captain and Afridi, a left-arm pacer, as the T20I captain.
Shan Masood, a 30-year-old left-handed batsman, has been appointed captain for Tests until the end of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25. Masood’s first captaincy assignment is the three-match Test series against Australia in Australia starting from December 14.
In his cricket career, Masood has featured in 30 Tests, accumulating 1,597 runs, including four centuries and seven half-centuries.
Meanwhile, Shaheen Shah Afridi, a 23-year-old left-arm pacer, will lead the Pakistan Men’s Team in the T20I format. Afridi’s inaugural role as captain will be in the five-match T20I series in New Zealand scheduled from January 12 to January 21. Afridi has an impressive T20I record, bagging 64 wickets in 52 matches. He previously captained Lahore Qalandars in the HBL PSL, guiding the team to victory in the 2022 and 2023 editions.
The PCB also mentioned that the ODI captaincy would be appointed in due course, with the next ODI fixture scheduled for November 2024 in Australia.
Additionally, the PCB appointed former Test captain Muhammad Hafeez as the Team Director, replacing Mickey Arthur. This move came after Babar Azam stepped down as Pakistan’s all-format captain following the team’s disappointing performance in the ongoing World Cup 2023.
Azam’s resignation followed a meeting with PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, and under his leadership, Pakistan failed to qualify for the World Cup semifinals. Overall, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) names Shan Masood and Shaheen Shah Afridi as Test and T20I captains, respectively, on Wednesday.
