Aaj News

PCB denies leadership changes in national cricket team

Reports about replacing Riawan, Masood quashed as baseless
Updated 25 Aug, 2025 01:37pm
Photo via X
Photo via X

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has firmly denied media reports suggesting significant leadership changes within the national team, labelling them as “baseless and unfounded”.

In an official statement, the PCB clarified that claims about appointing Salman Ali Agha as the new ODI captain in place of Mohammad Rizwan are untrue.

The board also dismissed speculation that Saud Shakeel would be named as “Test Captain”, replacing Shan Masood.

The PCB emphasised that these matters were never considered by the selection committee, and there have been no changes to any player’s central contract category.

Earlier reports had indicated that the board was contemplating a shake-up in captaincy roles across formats, with alleged consultations taking place at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore.

It was suggested that Salman Agha might take over ODI leadership, while Saud Shakeel was considered a frontrunner for the Test captaincy.

Insiders had even hinted that Saud could see his central contract upgraded to Category B upon his appointment, as discussions were said to focus on establishing long-term leadership stability ahead of future tours.

cricket

PCB

ICC

Pakistan Cricket Board

ODI

Leadership

National Cricket team