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.
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.
“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.
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.
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