Shoaib Malik a better captaincy choice over Babar Azam, says Shahid Afridi

• Shahid Afridi believes Shoaib Malik should lead Pakistan in 2020 ICC T20 World Cup.
• Sarfaraz could still serve Pakistan as a player if not captain, says Afridi.

Pakistan former captain Shahid Afridi believes that veteran batsman Shoaib Malik would have been a better T20I captaincy choice over Babar Azam, as ICC T20 World Cup 2020 approaches.

“Babar Azam is no doubt the backbone of Pakistan batting line and a consistent performer for Pakistan, but I believe that the T20I captaincy should have been handed to Shoaib Malik instead of Babar Azam,” said Afridi in a video.

The former captain was of the view that the appointment of Malik as T20I captain would have made more sense as ICC T20 World Cup nears. “Malik has been playing for a considerable period now, and has been part of various cricketing leagues as well, so as a captain Malik should have led Pakistan, till the World Cup at least,” he added.

The former all-rounder applauded the outgoing captain Sarfaraz Ahmed for his achievements, as Pakistan won the Champions Trophy 2017 and also became a dominant T20I team under his leadership. “Sarfaraz shouldn’t dishearten himself, as he could still serve Pakistan as a player as well, and he still got the time to make a strong comeback.”

The PCB announced on Friday Azhar Ali as the national cricket team captain for Pakistan’s World Test Championship matches in the 2019-20 season, meanwhile Babar Azam was named captain of the No.1 ranked T20I side until next year’s ICC T20 World Cup Australia 2020, which is now exactly one year away.

The decision on vice-captaincy will be made closer to the series, whilst captaincy for the ODIs will be finalised in due course as the national team’s next assignment is scheduled from 4-9 July 2020 against the Netherlands in Amstelveen.