Pakistan cricket has found itself in a rut, an infinite loop that has kept haunting them in the last couple of years. The more desperate they become to get out of the pits, the bigger hole they keep digging for themselves. On Tuesday night, when the subcontinent population was preparing to sleep after a long day, Babar Azam decided to drop a bombshell that very few could have predicted.

For the second time in less than 12 months, Babar stepped down as the captain of the Pakistan team. Back in November 2023, it was from all three formats that he resigned. This time around, he called it a day from limited-overs cricket. Pakistan’s Test cricket is not in the best of shape either. Shan Masood has tasted defeats in all five Tests as skipper since taking over from Babar last year.

That Pakistan have struggled to win home Tests has added to their misery. It should not raise eyebrows if Masood’s position as captain comes under the scanner if Pakistan slump to defeat in their upcoming series against England right after their disastrous series against Bangladesh. But for now, Pakistan are again in with a dilemma about appointing a new captain in ODIs and T20Is.

PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi had shown faith in Babar and reappointed him as the skipper earlier this year. But Babar was greeted with severe criticism after Pakistan fell flat on their faces in the Men’s T20 World Cup, failing to make their way beyond the group stage. With Babar giving up the ghost, Pakistan keep getting strangled in the musical chair of captaincy.

Who after Babar Azam?

Pakistan do not have a lot of options to work with. Neither do they have enough time as their ODI series in Australia starts on November 4 with the T20Is from November 14. From the current lot, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Rizwan are the possible options Pakistan could look into for captaining the national team in the shorter formats.

Shaheen had replaced Babar last year as the T20I skipper after tasting success with the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). But after a solitary series defeat to New Zealand, Shaheen was removed as their captain. It was then that Babar was recalled to take charge.

Shadab Khan captained Islamabad United to glory in PSL 2024, and helped the Panthers win the Champions Cup at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. But he has had his ups and downs, struggling to hold on to his place in the national side since the ODI World Cup 2023 on Indian soil.

Rizwan has also done well in the PSL for Multan Sultans, but has never led Pakistan in ODIs and T20Is, although he captained them in the two Tests in New Zealand in 2020-21. Rizwan seems to be the most apt candidate to take the reins from Babar with the Australia tour knocking on the door.

Can Babar Azam return to his best?

In his statement, Babar said that he stepped down to free himself from the ‘significant workload’ that comes with captaincy. Once on top of his game, Babar was the only batter to have an average of more than 50 in all three formats for Pakistan. But in the last two years, he, somehow, has lost the Midas touch. Runs have dried up from his bat even in batting-friendly conditions.

Since January 2023, Babar has averaged 21.13 in Test cricket, much lower than his career average of 44.51. In ODIs, where he currently holds the No.1 ranking, Babar averages 46.30 in that period, compared to his overall 56.72. In T20Is, he has scored runs at an average of 39.50, but it’s his strike-rate that has been questioned, with Virender Sehwag saying that he is not fit to play for Pakistan.

Once touted to be one of the world’s best, Babar has gone off the boil quite a bit. Unlike Pat Cummins, Rohit Sharma, Ben Stokes and others, captaincy hasn’t brought the best out of him. Babar not getting runs also meant that Pakistan looked crippled with an unstable middle-order that has given them enough headaches.

But now, with the monkey of captaincy off his back, Babar has given himself a lifeline to rediscover himself and return to where he belongs, right on top of the world. Pakistan cricket, on the other hand, keeps gasping for breath as troubles keep mounting on them.