The PCB have reappointed Babar Azam as Pakistan Test captain, almost three years after he stepped down from the role.
Babar takes over from Shan Masood, and will begin his second tenure leading Pakistan's Test side for their two-match series against West Indies later this month. Masood has captained Pakistan across a period where the results in the format has been poor. Having taken over from Babar in late 2023, Pakistan have lost 12 of the 16 Tests Masood has been in charge for. Pakistan are also on a losing stint of seven consecutive Tests after being beaten 2-0 by Bangladesh in their most recent series in May, and sit bottom of the 2025-2027 World Test Championship table.
High-performance director Aaqib Javed explained why the PCB sacked Masood: "We saw many close Test matches [under Masood's captaincy], but a few things were not being addressed. Like the Centurion Test [2024/25], South Africa's two batters at No.10 [Senuran Muthusamy and Kagiso Rabada put on a 60-70 run partnership [98 runs]. The game was in our hands. Against the West Indies in Multan, in the second Test, the team was rolled over easily.
"The captain has a responsibility of finishing games. Same with the South Africa Tests at home. Some things are the responsibility of the team, some are the responsibility of the selectors, and some are the responsibility of the captain. The captain's responsibility also includes maintaining the team's over rate, taking DRS decisions, making the right call at the toss."
Explained: Why Babar Azam has taken over from Shan Masood
With the PCB having decided Masood's captaincy tenure had come to an end, his successor would be their next decision. Pakistan have split their captains across formats over the last few years. Shaheen Shah Afridi took over the ODI captaincy from Mohammad Rizwan last year, while Salman Ali Agha has been T20I captain since 2025.
Shaheen, a dwindling force as a Test bowler over the last two years, was dropped from Pakistan's side for their second Test against Bangladesh earlier this year. He also wasn't included in a 22-player group at a red-ball training camp last month, and when the PCB announced Pakistan's squad to face West Indies and England, he wasn't included.
Agha would have been a more viable option than Shaheen to replace Masood as captain. He has played in every one of Pakistan's Tests since making his debut in July 2022, and only Saud Shakeel has scored more Test runs for Pakistan in that time.
However, the PCB have adopted a policy of formal separation between formats over the last couple of years, naming three different captains when Babar stepped down as all-format captain in November 2023. Last month, the governing body revealed a redesign of their player contract system, citing "that the three formats now demand fundamentally different commitments, and that players increasingly specialise."
Given the desire to separate the three formats from each other – it's highly likely Agha's position as T20I captain precluded him from becoming Test captain.
Realistically, the only other option Pakistan have in their Test squad to face West Indies and England to take over from Masood is Mohammad Rizwan. He led Pakistan in two Tests against New Zealand in 2021 when Babar was injured. He lost them both. He took over from Babar as ODI captain in 2024, but was removed after Pakistan lost 11 of his first 20 matches in charge. Having been appointed captain across both white-ball formats, Agha took over the T20I captaincy after Rizwan was dropped last year.
With Rizwan's poor record as captain, the selectors cast their eyes upon Babar. In November 2023, Babar stepped down as all-format captain after Pakistan failed to qualfy for the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup. His resignation came amid a period of instability in the PCB, but his record as captain was statistically better than any of those who have come after him. Pakistan only lost six of the 20 Tests he was in charge of, and in the year leading up to his resignation they had two draws against New Zealand and a 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka. His white-ball win percentage was above 60 across five years. Crucially, while his Test record has declined since 2023, he averaged above 50 during his captaincy.
Thus, a combination of a dearth of other options and perhaps some revisionism over Babar's previous captaincy tenure likely saw him emerge as the best candidate to take over from Masood.
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