LAHORE: Saqlain Mushtaq has proposed Shadab Khan as a potential captain for the 2025 Champions Trophy. This claimed was made by some section of social media. However, a fact check was conducted by iVerify Pakistan and termed it a false news.
To reach this conclusion, the iVerify Pakistan team referred to Saqlain Mushtaq’s recent press conference as the mentor for the Panthers in the Champions One-Day Cup. On September 16, 2024, multiple users on the social media platform X claimed that former Pakistani cricketer and coach Saqlain Mushtaq had suggested his son-in-law, spin bowler Shadab Khan, for the captaincy of the national team in the upcoming Champions Trophy. However, Mushtaq did not make such a statement.
Pakistan will host the Men’s Champions Trophy in 2025, marking the first major global cricket tournament held in the country since 1996 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which was co-hosted with India and Sri Lanka.
White-ball captain Babar Azam and red-ball skipper Shan Masood have faced significant criticism due to Pakistan’s disappointing performances in international cricket over the past year. Under Babar’s leadership, the team struggled in the 50-over Asia Cup and the 2023 World Cup, ultimately being eliminated in the first round of the 2024 T20 World Cup held in the US and West Indies.
Meanwhile, Shan’s team suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat in Australia and an unexpected 2-0 sweep at home against Bangladesh in the Test format.
These failures have sparked calls for a serious review of the team structure and leadership, with speculation that Babar and Shan may be replaced before Pakistan’s next international assignment. Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is reportedly being considered for the captaincy across all formats.
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On September 16, 2024, a user on X shared a screenshot from Saqlain Mushtaq’s recent press conference regarding the Champions One Day Cup, alongside a photo of Shadab Khan from a cricket match. The caption read: “Saqlain Mushtaq – Given Shadab Khan’s performance and captaincy in this Champions Cup, I think he could be a better option for captain of Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025.” This post garnered over 263,000 views.
A fact-check was initiated due to the claim’s virality and the public’s interest in the national cricket team’s management amidst captaincy challenges. A reverse image search of Mushtaq’s photo led to a press conference announcing him as the mentor for the Lake City Panthers, which was uploaded to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s YouTube channel on September 3, 2024. Upon reviewing the press conference, it was clear that Mushtaq made no such comments during the 26-minute discussion.
Additionally, sports correspondents Imran Siddique and Abdul Ghaffar from Dawn.com confirmed that Mushtaq did not make any statements to this effect, and no audio or video evidence supports the claim.
VERDICT: The assertion that Saqlain Mushtaq recommended Shadab Khan for the captaincy in the 2025 Champions Trophy is false. The former coach has not made any such remark or suggestion.
