Pakistan Team Captains: The Complete All-Time List from 1952 to 2026

Every Pakistan team captain since the country’s first Test in 1952 — the full chronological list across Tests, ODIs and T20Is, from Abdul Hafeez Kardar to Sahibzada Farhan. If you want to know who led Pakistan in any era, this is the definitive reference.

Pakistan Test captains (selected eras)

Pakistan has had more than 30 Test captains since 1952. The defining tenures:

• Abdul Hafeez Kardar (1952–1958) — the first captain; led Pakistan’s inaugural Test vs India at Delhi. Full story.
• Imran Khan (1982–1992) — the transformative leader; 14 Test wins including series victories in England and India.
• Wasim Akram (1993–2000) — led the great 1990s side in spells.
• Misbah-ul-Haq (2010–2017) — Pakistan’s most successful Test captain: 26 wins, took Pakistan to No. 1 in the ICC Test rankings in 2016.
• Sarfaraz Ahmed (2016–2019), Azhar Ali (2019–2020), Babar Azam (2020–2023)
• Shan Masood (2023–2026) — the red-ball rebuild. Full story.
• Babar Azam (July 2026–present) — returned to the Test captaincy. Full story.

Pakistan ODI captains (selected eras)

• Intikhab Alam (1973–1975) — led Pakistan’s first ODI (vs New Zealand, Christchurch, 1973).
• Imran Khan (1982–1992) — crowned by the 1992 World Cup triumph at Melbourne.
• Wasim Akram (1993–2000) — took Pakistan to the 1999 World Cup final.
• Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq (2011–2015) — 2011 semi-final and 2015 quarter-final campaigns.
• Sarfaraz Ahmed (2017–2019) — won the 2017 Champions Trophy, beating India in the final.
• Babar Azam (2020–2023)
• Mohammad Rizwan (2024–2025) — the white-ball era. Full story.
• Shaheen Shah Afridi (Nov 2025–present) — current ODI captain. Full story.

Pakistan T20I captains (selected eras)

• Younis Khan (2007–2009) — won the 2009 T20 World Cup at Lord’s.
• Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq (2009–2016)
• Sarfaraz Ahmed (2016–2019) — took Pakistan to No. 1 in the T20I rankings.
• Babar Azam (2019–2023) — 2022 T20 World Cup final.
• Shaheen Afridi (2024) — one series in New Zealand.
• Salman Ali Agha (2025–2026) — 50 T20Is, 31 wins. Full story.
• Sahibzada Farhan (Oct 2026–present) — current T20I captain. Full story.

Era notes

Three patterns run through the list. First, Pakistan’s greatest captains were usually its greatest players — Imran, Wasim, Misbah. Second, the T20I captaincy has been a revolving door since 2023, with five changes in three years. Third, trophy success clusters: 1992, 2009 and 2017 remain the only ICC titles, each under a different captain. For the ranked assessment, see most successful Pakistan captains; for the women’s game, Fatima Sana’s story.

All-time captains: FAQs

Who was Pakistan’s first cricket captain?

Abdul Hafeez Kardar, who led Pakistan’s first Test against India at Delhi in October 1952.

Which Pakistan captains have won ICC trophies?

Imran Khan (1992 World Cup), Younis Khan (2009 T20 World Cup) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (2017 Champions Trophy).

Who has captained Pakistan in the most Tests?

Misbah-ul-Haq — 56 Tests as captain, with a Pakistan-record 26 wins.

Who are Pakistan’s current captains?

Sahibzada Farhan (T20I), Shaheen Shah Afridi (ODI) and Babar Azam (Test), as of October 2026.