Babar Azam officially resigned as Pakistan’s white-ball captain on October 2, 2024. His decision came after a challenging period where his batting form had dipped, and Pakistan’s performance in recent ICC tournaments had raised concerns. Despite the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) backing him, Babar chose to step down to focus more on his batting and personal performance.
Although the PCB was keen for Babar to continue leading the ODI side, especially with the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled in Pakistan next year, Babar decided to relinquish captaincy across both ODI and T20 formats. He expressed that the workload of captaincy was affecting his form and that he wished to concentrate more on contributing as a player. His resignation was seen as a step to reinvigorate his batting career after a challenging run of poor form, including failing to score a half-century in his last 16 Test innings.
As of now, Mohammad Rizwan is considered a strong candidate to replace him as captain.
