Najam Sethi urges people to stop making Babar Azam's captaincy 'controversial'

Najam Sethi, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee chairman, Monday urged people to support Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and stop making his captaincy "controversial".

He said that the 28-year-old cricketer will continue performing his duties as the captain.

The board, last month, had named Shadab Khan as stand-in captain for the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan while giving rest to senior players including skipper Babar Azam.

This move by the PCB stirred speculations that the star batter may lose captaincy in one format and the board is testing players for the leadership role.

Clearing the air about Babar's role in the team, Sethi said that he had sought the views of the selection committee — headed by Shahid Afridi and Haroon Rashid — regarding the matter.

"Both committees thought the matter merited discussion but both later came to the conclusion that the status quo should be retained. I have subsequently publicly stated this position. In the final analysis, my decision will be subject to the success or failure of the status quo," said the PCB official.

Sethi also said that the skipper should be supported, urging that the matter surrounding his captaincy should not be made "controversial" in the national team's interest.

Earlier this month, the management committee chairman rubbished speculations surrounding the national side skipper's captaincy in the near future.

"Babar Azam came to see me today. I told him he will lead the ODI and T20I national team against New Zealand. And then PCB announced the squads. So all those who were spreading fake fears are out of jobs today," said Sethi in a tweet.