Babar Azam is Pakistan’s new Test captain

Babar Azam has been appointed as Pakistan Test captain, which now makes him the captain across all three formats. He replaces Azhar Ali, who last captained Pakistan against England this summer.

Babar Azam has been appointed as Pakistan Test captain, which now makes him the captain across all three formats. His first assignment will be to captain Pakistan in the ICC World Test Championship fixtures against New Zealand.https://t.co/sj1SS6vEqz pic.twitter.com/S7EDhaiR2N

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 10, 2020

Babar’s first assignment will be to captain Pakistan in the ICC World Test Championship fixtures against New Zealand, which will be played in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch from December 26-30 and January 3-7, respectively.

JUST IN: Babar Azam has been appointed as Pakistan Test captain, replacing Azhar Ali. #cricket #ICC pic.twitter.com/hvf1JXhHt0

— international Cricket Council (@ICC_TODAY) November 10, 2020

PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani confirmed the appointment following a meeting with Azhar on Tuesday evening in which he also thanked him for his contributions as a captain. The PCB Chairman subsequently spoke with Babar following his side’s eight wickets in the third T20I against Zimbabwe and congratulated him on his appointment.

PCB Chairman said, “I want to thank Azhar for stepping up last year by captaining the side in what was a historic first home Test series in over a decade. I believe Azhar still has a lot of cricket left in him and Pakistan cricket can continue to make the best use of his experience and knowledge as specialist top-order batsman moving forward.”

Congratulations @babarazam258 for being appointed as test captain all the best brother👍 I assure my full support to you.. May Allah help you achieve many glorious victories for Pakistan Ameen….

— Azhar Ali (@AzharAli_) November 10, 2020

Mani further said, “Babar 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.”

The chairman concluded by saying, “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.”

Meanwhile, Babar while sharing his thoughts on his appointment said, “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.”

“I am ready and prepared to take up the additional responsibility and the fact which gives me additional confidence is that I can do the job is the experience that is available to me in the changing room in the shape of the players and support staff,” he added.

Babar also thanked Azhar for the way he captained the team in the last season, which according to him was a challenging task.

Azhar should not have been sacked stay consistent with your decisions

— saim (@am_saim_) November 10, 2020