On Wednesday, Babar Azam stepped down as the captain from all the formats of the game. It was coming after a terrible show by Babar as a batter and skipper at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Prior to that, Babar also struggled as a Test skipper, especially failing to stitch wins for the team on home soil. While Shaheen Afridi was picked as the T20I skipper, Shan Masood replaced Babar as the Test captain. It needs to be noted that not long ago, Shan Masood was not in the setup. Hence, it was a surprise to see him take up the mantle in Tests. On that note, here, we take a look at three players Pakistan could have picked as Test captain instead of Shan Masood.
1) Mohammad Rizwan
Mohammad Rizwan would have been an ideal candidate to lead Pakistan in Tests. He is someone who has the experience and knows the situation of Pakistan cricket better, considering he plays in all the formats of the game.
Rizwan has anyways been the deputy to Babar in many matches, although it was in a different format. In this regard, he has better experience in dealing with the challenges of the role.
2) Sarfaraz Ahmed
Sarfaraz Ahmed is one of the players Pakistan could have picked as Test captain instead of Shan Masood. It was actually reported a few weeks ago that former captain Sarfaraz would come back as the skipper. The Test format would have been the best bet if he was to make a comeback.
A few months ago, he made a return as a player. He has looked good since then. Pakistan needs someone to travel through the transition phase. Sarfaraz would have been ideal in this sense. While he would have captained the side, a younger captain like Shaheen Afridi could have been groomed in this phase.
