Aqib Javed bets on Babar Azam as only option for ODI captaincy

Amid reports that Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) will likely retain Pakistan skipper Babar Azam as the team lead till World Cup 2023, a statement by former Pakistani cricketer Aqib Javed emerged that no other player than the right-handed batter could be the captain for One Day International (ODI).

"The entire conversation regarding Babar Azam's captaincy was wrong in the first place. No one can be the ODI captain except for Babar Azam," Javed said.

He said that currently there was more ODI cricket being played as Asia Cup 2023 and World Cup 2023 were upcoming.

"Why are you even naming anyone other than Babar. Why do you want to make anyone captain other than hims," he asked, adding that having another captain other than the 28-year-old prolific batter in the latest Afghanistan series had shown its results.

However, Javed — who had earlier dismissed the idea of having different captains for all three formats of cricket — now believes that Pakistan's pace sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi should be brought into the role of a captain for T20 World Cup 2024.

The former cricketer — who is also the owner of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Lahore Qalandars — speaks highly of the 21-year-old paceman and has voiced his support for Shaheen to be the national team's skipper in the T20Is as he has led his side to victory twice in the league cricket.

Javed said that he had suggested appointing Shaheen as the skipper for any one format because "he has a different mind-set while all others are the same".

"When you say teams should be formed on [the basis of] PSL performance, the captain [Shaheen] claims the trophy back to back in two years of PSL, so that should also be kept in view," he said, adding that Shaheen performs with the bat as well whenever needed.

PCB to retain Babar as captain till World Cup

Babar, one of Pakistan's most successful captains, will continue to lead the national team till World Cup 2023, which is scheduled to be held in India later this year, The News reported Sunday citing sources.

While an official announcement is yet to be made by the PCB, the sources confirmed to the publication that officials comprising chairman Management Committee Najam Sethi, chief selector Haroon Rashid and Director Coaching Mickey Arthur has unanimously decided to repose trust in Babar as the captain of the team till the mega event.

Besides leading the team in the World Cup, he will also be seen captaining the team in all series and events in the run-up to the mega event.

These include the two Test match series against Sri Lanka, three-match ODI series against Afghanistan and Asia Cup to be hosted by Pakistan in September.

“Following a series of meetings over the last few weeks that also included online meetings and in-person meeting with Arthur in mid-April, the troika has decided to continue with Babar as the team captain till the World Cup.

"It is believed that since there was no potential candidate who can come even closer to his abilities as a cricketer and captain, the best and most sane approach is to continue with Babar as the captain till the ODI World Cup 2023,” the source confirmed to The News.

Besides, leading the team to World No 1 spot in ODIs (just for a couple of hours), Babar is also unbeatable on the batting chart in the format.