When the Pakistan cricket team announced their squad for the T20 World Cup 2024, one thing piqued everyone’s eye. The 15-member team had no vice-captain. Despite having strong candidates like Mohammed Rizwan, Shadab Khan, and Shahen Shah Afridi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to refrain from announcing Babar Azam’s deputy.
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Captaincy fiasco reason behind vice-captain non-selection
Why did they do so? The reason is the captaincy fiasco. Babar Azam was brought back as white-ball following Shaheen Afridi’s horrible run as their new captain (1-4 record). Seeing that they’d potentially already burned bridges between Babar and Shaheen, the PCB and the selector decided not to announce a vice-captain and instead handed the responsibility to their new head coach, Gary Kirsten.
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“Since so many ifs and buts were involved due to mishandling of the captaincy and vice-captaincy issues by the previous regime, six selectors believed that no one should be appointed as deputy to Babar Azam during the World Cup (T20); hence, there was no point in offering vice-captaincy to anyone for the World Cup,” a PCB source told a local news channel, according to Cricket Pakistan.
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Pakistan Cricket
Gary Kirsten given supreme power
To ensure that no favoritism or bias comes into play, PCB and selectors have decided to hand the decision-making power to Kirsten. As an experienced coach, the South African knows how to manage players and will choose the Pakistan cricket team’s white-ball vice-captain if need be.
“If ever Babar leaves the field or is forced to skip a match, Gary will have the powers to decide on Babar’s deputy to marshal the field,” the source said.