BABAR AZAM REAPPOINTED PAKISTAN TEST CAPTAIN: PAKISTAN SQUADS FOR WEST INDIES AND ENGLAND TOURS.

July 2026: PCB Removes Shan Masood, Hands Back Test Captaincy to Babar Azam for West Indies & England Tours

4 years later, he’s back. Babar Azam is once again Pakistan’s Test captain. The PCB has removed Shan Masood and handed the Test captaincy back to Babar for the remaining matches of the WTC 2025-27 cycle.

The announcement came in July 2026, right after Pakistan suffered a 2-0 whitewash against Bangladesh and dropped to 5th in the WTC table.

1.OFFICIAL ANNOUNCMENT AND REOSON

Date:    July 2026  

Decision:    Shan Masood removed as Test captain after 16 Tests, 12 losses  

New Captain:    Babar Azam  

Vice-Captain:    Saud Shakeel  

PCB Statement: “With a busy domestic and international schedule, we need experience and stability. Babar’s leadership and batting form make him the right choice.”

Series Covered:   West Indies July 2026, England Aug-Sep 2026

2. SHAN MASOOD ERA: WHAT WENT WRONG?

Captain.        Tests    Won.    Lost.       Win %

Shan Masood 16.        3.         12.        18.75%

1. Whitewashed by Bangladesh:   2-0 home series loss in May 2026  

2. No WTC Wins:    Pakistan 5th in WTC 2025-27 table with 50% points  

3. Batting Form:    Masood’s own average dropped while captaining  

Selectors called it a “strategic decision” citing both workload management and results.

3. BABAR’S PREVIOUS TEST RECORDS 

First Tenure:    Nov 2020 - Dec 2022  

Record:    20 Tests, 10 Wins, 6 Losses, 4 Draws - 50% Win rate  

Best Series:    2-0 vs South Africa 2021, 1-0 vs Bangladesh 2021  

Personal Batting as Captain:   Avg 54.3 with 5 centuries. Babar’s average actually improves under captaincy pressure.

*Why He Was Removed in 2022*: Burden of leading in all 3 formats. Now he will focus only on Tests.

4. NEW SQUAD UNDER BABAR CAPTAINCY: WEST INDIES AND ENGLAND TOURS. 

17-Member Squad for West Indies and England Tests:  

Babar Azam (c),  Saud Shakeel (vc),  Mohammad Abbas,  Mohammad Ali,  Salman Ali Agha,  Azan Awais,  Abdullah Fazal,  Imam-ul-Haq,  Aamir Jamal,  Ghazi Ghori (wk),  Sajid Khan,  Mohammad Rizwan (wk),  Khurram Shahzad, Ubaid Shah,  Ali Usman,  Shan Masood, Mohammad Awais Zafar

Key Changes:

1. 4 Uncapped:   Abdullah Fazal, Azan Awais, Ghazi Ghori, Ubaid Shah

2. Saud Shakeel VC:   Promoted to leadership group

3. Shan Masood:   Still in squad as a player

4. Naseem Shah: Rested for West Indies and England series. 

  5. 3 BIG CHALLENGES FOR BABAR 2.0 

1. Rebuild Team Confidence:    Morale is low after the Bangladesh loss. Up next is Bazball England in August

2. Balance Batting + Captaincy:   Babar is currently world #2 Test batter. Captaincy pressure can’t affect his batting

3. WTC Qualification:  Pakistan needs at least 3 wins in the next 5 Tests to stay in the WTC Final race

   6. REACTIONS FROM CRICKET WORLD 

Saud Shakeel:   “Playing with Babar bhai is easy. The team will get direction.”  

Wasim Akram:   “Best decision. Babar understands Test cricket. He leads from the front.”  

Fan Reaction:   #KingReturns trended with 1.2M tweets in 6 hours

     7. WicketGlow Verdict

Babar’s return makes sense. Shan tried hard but results didn’t come. Babar has experience, respect in the dressing room, and form.

If Babar goes 3-2 against West Indies and England, Pakistan can still push for the WTC Final.

Next Test:    25 July 2026 vs West Indies, Brian Lara Cricket Academy