ISLAMABAD (AP) — Babar Azam has returned to lead Pakistan’s test cricket team after Shan Masood was axed from the role on Sunday.
Masood’s firing seemed inevitable after the team lost 12 of 16 matches during his tenure, which began when he initially replaced Babar in late 2023.
“We wanted to look for a captain who could lead the team in a much better way,” selector Aaqib Javed told media in Lahore. “Shan’s individual performance was good but as captain we weren’t getting the desired results.”
Javed said the selection committee was unanimous in recommending Babar as captain and no other player came up in the discussion.
Pakistan’s results in test matches took a sharp decline since Masood lost 3-0 to Australia in his first series. Pakistan also lost 2-0 to Bangladesh at home for the first time and the only series win under Masood’s captaincy came against England at home when Pakistan won 2-1 as eventually Pakistan finished at bottom of the last World Test Championship points table.
Javed pointed out several shortcomings of the Pakistan team in test matches under Masood’s leadership that included losses against South Africa and the West Indies.
“The captain has a responsibility of finishing the games,” Javed said. “Some things are the responsibility of the team, some are the responsibility of the selectors, and some are the responsibility of the captain. The captain’s responsibility also includes maintaining the team’s over rate, taking DRS decisions and making the right call at the toss.”
Masood had a fair time with the bat during his captaincy as he scored two centuries and seven half centuries, including back-to-back fifties at Melbourne against Australia.
Babar had led Pakistan to 10 wins in 20 tests before Masood was handed the captaincy. Babar's tenure as skipper started with a 2-0 home win over South Africa and Pakistan also went on to clean sweep Bangladesh and Sri Lanka away from home.
As captain, Babar averaged over 50 runs per innings in test cricket and his only blemish came against England when Pakistan lost 3-0 at home.
Babar’s second stint as skipper starts with two-test series in West Indies later this month for which Pakistan named Masood as one of the 16 players. After the West Indies series, Pakistan will play three test matches in England for which Saud Shakeel will be added as a 17th player, subject to fitness.
Left-arm spinner Ali Usman, right-handed batter Awais Zafar, right-arm fast bowler Ubaid Shah and wicketkeeper batter Ghazi Ghori are the uncapped players in the squad.
Squad:
Babar Azam (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imamul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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