LAHORE (Reuters) – Babar Azam has been reinstated as Pakistan’s white-ball captain, marking his return to leadership in the shorter formats of cricket, as announced on Sunday.

This decision comes four and a half months after Babar stepped down from his role as captain across all formats following Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the World Cup held in India.

Pakistan’s early exit from the 50-over World Cup prompted Babar’s decision to relinquish captaincy. Subsequently, Shaheen Afridi took charge of the T20 squad, while Shan Masood was appointed as the test captain.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed Babar’s appointment as the white-ball captain through a statement on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, following a unanimous recommendation from the PCB’s selection committee.

Under Afridi’s leadership, Pakistan faced a setback in New Zealand earlier this year, suffering a 4-1 defeat in a T20 series. Babar’s return as captain comes ahead of a five-match T20 series against New Zealand scheduled for next month. However, the real test of his leadership will come during the upcoming T20 World Cup in June.