Babar Azam has been named as the new Test captain of the Pakistan team, making him the team captain for all formats.
26-year-old player Babar Azam is known to be the white-ball cricket captain of Pakistan. Now, he has also been appointed to be the team’s captain for Test matches. With that, his first assignment will be to captain the national team in the upcoming ICC World Test Championship fixtures to be played against New Zealand.
Having agreed to the position, Azam replaced former Test captain Azhar Ali who may have somehow had his performance change after the captaincy. Now, both the administrators of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Azam are excited to see what is yet to unfold as he becomes the captain across all formats.
Talking about this decision, PCB chairman Ehsan Mani says, ‘Babar Azam was identified at a very young age as a future leader and as part of his progression and development, he was appointed white-ball captain last year. With his consistent performance and leadership skills, he has demonstrated that he is ready to take on the additional responsibilities of a captain’.
‘As we are looking into the future, it is appropriate that we appoint him the captain now so that he continues to grow stronger with every match. I wish Babar all the best and remain optimistic that he will help Pakistan cricket make an upward movement across all formats not only through his performance but also with his positive attitude and result-oriented approach’, he added.
Aside from wishing Azam all the best for his new career venture, Mani also thanked Ali for being the team’s past captain, especially with the fact that he had led the team to a historic first home Test series.
More so, Azam talked about how he felt for his new role by saying, ‘I feel truly honoured to have been appointed Test captain and join some of the most iconic players who have captained Pakistan in the purest format of the game. I can now say with conviction that dreams can come true only if you chase them with honesty, dedication and commitment’.
He also added that he is already prepared for the responsibilities that are yet to come. He also said that the support of the players and of the staff is enough to help boost his confidence. With that, he also thanked Ali for having captained the team last time.
Pakistan and New Zealand’s matches will be played from December 26 to 30 in Mount Maunganui and January 3 to 7 in Christchurch. To further understand Test matches, head over to Betwala.
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