Captaincy drama rocks Pakistan cricket again

Pakistan cricket plunged into crisis over the weekend following a seemingly shoddy change of captaincy.

Babar Azam returned as the white-ball captain of Pakistan, replacing Shaheen Afridi as 20-over skipper ahead of the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and US in June. Afridi's stint as captain lasted just one series – a 4-1 T20 loss in New Zealand in January.

The appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as the new chairman of the Pakistan board was expected to result in more changes in the team structure and he quickly brought Azam back as captain; the star batsman had stepped down as skipper in all formats in November after Pakistan crashed out of the 50-over World Cup in the first round in India.

However, the return of Azam as captain and the ousting of Afridi has been far from smooth.

The PCB sent out a press release announcing the change on Sunday, which included a statement of support from Afridi. However, reports from ESPNcricinfo, AFP and Geo News have claimed that Afridi did not give any quotes in support of Azam and had been planning to issue a clarification over the events.

“It was an absolute honour to captain the Pakistan national cricket team. I will always cherish the memories and the opportunity," Afridi is supposed to have said in a statement from the PCB.

"As a team player, it is my duty to back our captain, Babar Azam. I have played under his captaincy and have nothing but respect for him. I will try to help him on and off the field. We are all one. Our aim is the same, to help Pakistan become the best team in the world.”