Mickey Arthur to decide Babar Azam’s future as captain: Najam Sethi

• Sethi deems Babar wonderful and main player.
• “If he wins as captain, nobody can remove him.” 
• Sethi appreciates unity among players.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi said Saturday the future of Babar Azam’s captaincy will be decided by the selections committee and Mickey Arthur, who is set to become the national team director.

Sethi, in his latest interview, has yet again deemed Babar a wonderful player; however, the team management will decide his future as the Green Shirts’ captain.

“For now, we have retained Babar as a captain because he is our main player. His captaincy is often discussed in media, we have nothing to do with it,” the PCB head said.

Sethi also spoke about listening to some thoughts on media. “Some said there should be two different captains and some said different captains in each format. Selection committee also discussed this thing but it is premature to talk about this.”

He mentioned consulting Arthur on the matter who suggested letting Babar continue.

“For the New Zealand series, he is our captain and we should back him. Later on, Mickey and the selection committee will decide on captaincy,” Sethi explained.

It must be noted here that the PCB head has the final authority to bring a change in captaincy. Recently, Sethi tweeted that he met Babar and gave him confidence for the home New Zealand tour where he resumed his regular captaincy role after resting during the Afghanistan T20I series that concluded in late March.

The two-time PCB chairman also emphasised on taking Babar in the loop before making any decision. “He is our star player. We need to talk to him first and let him make his decision in case of any change,” he shared.

“Obviously, his performance matters here. If he wins as captain, nobody can remove him. He is our performer and at this moment, we just need to support him,” he stated.

To a query about player power in the team, Sethi said he has no idea about it. “After I took charge, I haven’t seen any player power sort of thing here. I don’t know about the previous set-up,” he said.

“Players are united, they play like a group which is a very good sign,” he concluded.

After the conclusion of the Afghanistan T20I series, in which Pakistan lost by 2-1, stand-in skipper Shadab Khan gave comments about the importance of senior players in the team and it sparked controversy on social media.