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LAHORE: Playing another game of musical chairs with Pakistan’s captaincy, prolific middle-order batter Babar Azam has been brought back as captain of the Pakistan Test team after three years, replacing Shan Masood, who failed to lead the side to any significant success during his tenure.
Babar will lead Pakistan in back-to-back away Test series, first against the West Indies and then England, from July 25 to September 13.
The announcement was made by the selection committee, featuring former players Aaqib Javed, Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafique, who also named a 16-member squad for the West Indies tour and a 17-member squad for the England tour. Pakistan will play two Test matches in the Caribbean and three against England.
Earlier, there were indications that Shan was likely to be retained as skipper despite his continued failure. Though Shan enjoys strong support both within and outside the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which many believed could once again help him retain the post, but now the PCB took a bold step to remove him.
In early discussion, Babar’s name was also under consideration for captaincy with Shan and Salman Ali Agha. On Babar the think-tank had the question mark, mainly because it was concerned that the stylish batter might once again lose his batting form after taking on the captaincy.
He had only recently regained his touch after struggling for almost two years. However, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi ultimately showed confidence in Babar by restoring him as Test captain.
Interestingly, Mohsin had earlier removed Babar from the T20I captaincy after Pakistan’s dismal performance in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, as the side failed to qualify for the Super Eight stage.
Earlier, under PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf, Babar had also been removed as captain, with Shan elevated to the role after Pakistan failed to impress under Babar’s leadership in the 2023 ICC World Cup in India.
However, frequent changes in the captaincy, selection committee and coaching staff have failed to improve Pakistan’s performances across all three formats over the past three years, particularly in ICC events.
Babar was first appointed captain in 2020. As Test captain, he led Pakistan in 20 matches, winning 10, losing six and drawing four, for a 50 per cent success rate.
In contrast, Shan led Pakistan in 16 Test matches over three years, losing 12 and winning only four. The home and away whitewashes at the hands of Bangladesh were among the most notable defeats during his captaincy.
Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday morning, Aaqib said:
“After lengthy discussions and considering different aspects, we decided to change the captain and hand the responsibility back to Babar Azam.”
“It is a fact that Shan’s individual performance as captain was better, but the team’s performance was not,” Aaqib added.
As captain, Shan scored 1,056 runs at an average of 34.06, slightly better than his average of 28.51 as a non-captain. However, both averages remain mediocre.
Aaqib expressed hope that the change in captaincy would have a positive impact on the team’s performances during the two tours.
He said conditions in England would offer more grass on the pitches than those encountered during the recent Bangladesh tour.
Aaqib also said that Babar had not placed any conditions before accepting the captaincy. Aaqib, who has served as a selector, director academies and head coach over the past two years, said continuity in both the selection committee and captaincy was essential to achieving consistent results.
He said the selectors felt during the Bangladesh tour that Pakistan lacked genuine fast bowlers capable of troubling opposition batters.
Meanwhile, Misbah also backed Aaqib, saying:
“Continuity in cricket is a very important part of any strategy to achieve success.”
“Every captain has to perform both as an individual and as a leader to retain the position. Otherwise, it becomes difficult to move forward,” said Misbah, Pakistan’s most successful Test captain.
He dismissed the impression that Babar had been reappointed solely because of his T20I performances.
“Babar is in excellent form in both T20Is and ODIs, and he only needs a little improvement in Test cricket,” Misbah said.
Hinting that Babar would continue to be part of all three formats, Misbah added: “Babar is an important player in all three formats of the game.”
Pakistan will play two Test matches in the West Indies from July 25 to August 6, followed by a three-match Test series in England from August 19 to September 13.
Left-arm spinner Ali Usman, right-handed batter Mohammad Awais Zafar, fast bowler Ubaid Shah and wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori are the uncapped players in the squads.
Saud Shakeel has been included only for the England series, subject to fitness.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan, who was also recovering from injury, has been included in both squads, while Rohail Nazir failed to secure a place despite expectations that he would be selected. There are reports that Babar backed Rizwan’s inclusion.
Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been left out of the Test squad to focus on leading Pakistan in the ODI format.
Squad for West Indies series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Awais Zafar, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (wicket-keeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah.
Squad for England series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Awais Zafar, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (wicket-keeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah.
Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2026
