Pakistan Cricket Team ODI Captains List: Every Skipper from 1973 to 2026
Pakistan’s ODI captaincy history is one of the most eventful in world cricket. Since Intikhab Alam led the side in the first-ever ODI Pakistan played on February 11, 1973, against New Zealand, the green cap has passed through the hands of some of cricket’s most celebrated leaders and a few of its most controversial ones. Pakistan has seen a total of 30 ODI captains in its history.
From Imran Khan lifting the 1992 World Cup to Sarfaraz Ahmed’s 2017 Champions Trophy win to the revolving door of captains that defined the 2020s, the Pakistan Cricket Team ODI captains list tells a story that’s rarely dull.
This article covers every ODI captain in chronological order, with match records, standout moments, and the context you need to understand what each tenure meant for Pakistani cricket.
The Full Pakistan ODI Captains List at a Glance
| Captain | ODI Span | Matches | Wins |
| Intikhab Alam | 1973 | 3 | 2 |
| Majid Khan | 1973–1975 | approx. 3 | varies |
| Mushtaq Mohammad | 1975–1978 | 4 | 2 |
| Wasim Bari | 1977–1978 | 5 | 1 |
| Asif Iqbal | 1975–1981 | 37 | 18 |
| Javed Miandad | 1980–1996 | 78 | varies |
| Zaheer Abbas | 1982–1984 | 17 | 8 |
| Imran Khan | 1982–1992 | 139 | 75 |
| Wasim Akram | 1993–1999 | 109 | 66 |
| Saleem Malik | 1995–1996 | approx. 10 | varies |
| Rameez Raja | 1995–1996 | approx. 5 | varies |
| Aamer Sohail | 1996–1997 | approx. 12 | varies |
| Waqar Younis | 1998–2002 | approx. 89 | approx. 46 |
| Moin Khan | 1999–2001 | approx. 18 | varies |
| Saeed Anwar | 2000 | approx. 3 | varies |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 2001–2007 | 87 | varies |
| Yousuf Youhana | 2003 | approx. 4 | varies |
| Shoaib Malik | 2007–2009 | 30 | 15 |
| Younis Khan | 2009–2010 | approx. 13 | varies |
| Shahid Afridi | 2010–2011 | 32 | 17 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | 2011–2016 | 73 | varies |
| Azhar Ali | 2015–2017 | approx. 12 | varies |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed | 2017–2019 | approx. 50 | varies |
| Babar Azam | 2019–2024 | approx. 60 | 39+ |
| Shadab Khan | 2022 | approx. 3 | varies |
| Imam-ul-Haq | 2023 | approx. 2 | varies |
| Mohammad Rizwan | 2024–2025 | 20 | 9 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 2025–present | ongoing | ongoing |
Note: Match counts for several captains from the 1990s and 2000s vary slightly across sources. ESPNcricinfo remains the most reliable reference for precise figures.
Early Captains: 1973 to 1980
Intikhab Alam (1973)
Intikhab Alam was the first captain for Pakistan in ODI cricket, leading the team on February 11, 1973, against New Zealand. His ODI captaincy was brief, covering just three matches, but his place in history is secure as the man who started it all. He had already built a reputation as one of Pakistan’s finest leg-spinners and a thoughtful leader in Test cricket.
Intikhab captained Pakistan in its first-ever ODI, with a captaincy record of 3 ODIs with 2 wins and 1 loss.
Mushtaq Mohammad (1975–1978)
Mushtaq Mohammad led Pakistan through the early years of World Cup cricket. His captaincy record across ODIs read 4 ODIs with 2 wins and 2 losses, but his broader significance was as the man who helped develop Imran Khan into a genuine fast bowler and introduced Javed Miandad to international cricket.
Asif Iqbal (1975–1981)
Asif Iqbal was a formidable leader for Pakistan, captaining the team in 37 ODIs and securing victory in 18 of them. He was considered a pioneer in the use of spinners in ODI cricket.
His leadership took Pakistan to the semi-finals of the 1975 and 1979 World Cups. The calm he brought to the dressing room was noted by teammates from that era, and his tactical reads during those early World Cup campaigns helped establish Pakistan as a genuine competitor in the format.
The Era of Giants: 1980 to 1999
Javed Miandad (1980–1996, intermittent)
Javed Miandad led Pakistan in 78 ODIs across an extraordinary span from 1980 to 1996, a period that included reaching the finals of the 1983 and 1987 World Cups. His captaincy was characterised by sheer intensity. He was never content to lose quietly, and his combative spirit either inspired his team or invited controversy, often both at once.
Miandad’s tenure was not continuous. He stepped in and out of the captaincy across different periods, which reflects both how central he was to the team and how turbulent Pakistan cricket’s administrative structure could be.
Zaheer Abbas (1982–1984)
Zaheer Abbas led Pakistan in 17 ODIs from 1982 to 1984, winning eight of them. He was primarily a batsman of exceptional class, and his captaincy tenure was relatively brief, bookended by the longer reigns of Miandad and Imran Khan.
Imran Khan (1982–1992)
Imran Khan is unarguably Pakistan’s most successful limited-overs skipper. In 139 matches, he led Pakistan to 75 wins with a win percentage of 55.92.
The peak of his captaincy career came in 1992. Imran led a Pakistan side that had been written off by many observers, with an ageing squad and an inconsistent group stage record, all the way to the World Cup final in Melbourne. They beat England to win Pakistan’s first and only 50-over World Cup. He then retired. No captain in Pakistan’s ODI history has yet matched what he achieved in that tournament.
His 1987 series win in India, taking Pakistan to a 5-1 ODI victory on Indian soil, was another landmark moment that still ranks among the more impressive away performances in Pakistan’s cricket history.
Wasim Akram (1993–1999)
Wasim Akram’s captaincy tenure spanned three periods: 1993-94, 1995-96, and 1997-99. In ODIs, he led the team in 109 matches, winning 66. His win percentage of around 61% is the best of any Pakistan ODI captain to have led the team in a substantial number of matches.
Akram took the charge of the captaincy against Zimbabwe in February 1993, which Pakistan won by 49 runs. He picked up 158 wickets in 92 innings as a captain.
The match-fixing era cast a shadow over Pakistan cricket in the late 1990s, and Akram’s captaincy was not immune to that controversy. The PCB’s investigations led to censure for several players during this period, which complicated the legacy of an otherwise outstanding ODI leader.
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The 2000s: Rotation, Controversy, and Inzamam
Waqar Younis (1998–2002, multiple stints)
Waqar Younis took on the captaincy in between Akram’s various tenures and again more substantially from 2000 to 2002. His record across approximately 89 ODIs shows around 46 wins. Like Akram, he was primarily valued as a bowler, but he brought genuine aggression and commitment to the leadership role.
Inzamam-ul-Haq (2001–2007)
Inzamam-ul-Haq led Pakistan in 87 ODIs with 25 wins in 41 matches reflecting a win percentage of 51.71. He was a quietly authoritative presence in the dressing room, and Pakistan under his leadership were competitive across different conditions, though they never quite converted that consistency into a major ICC title.
His career ended abruptly after Pakistan’s defeat to Ireland at the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, one of the most shocking upsets in cricket history. Inzamam took responsibility and stepped down.
Shoaib Malik (2007–2009)
Shoaib Malik captained Pakistan during a transitional phase following the 2007 World Cup exit. He led in 30 ODIs, winning 15 of them. His tenure included both competitive performances and some high-profile losses, and he was eventually replaced as the PCB looked to rebuild the side.
Shahid Afridi (2010–2011)
Shahid Afridi captained the ODI side in 32 matches, winning 17. His energy and commitment were never in question, but the 2011 World Cup semi-final loss to India in Mohali, where Pakistan were within touching distance of a final before collapsing, remains one of the more painful moments of his leadership tenure. He stepped down from the ODI captaincy shortly after.
The Misbah Era and Modern Captains: 2011 to 2026
Misbah-ul-Haq (2011–2016)
After Shahid Afridi was removed as ODI captain in 2012, Misbah stepped in. Under his leadership, Pakistan, ranked fifth in the Test rankings at the time, achieved some memorable wins, including a 3-0 clean sweep over England.
Misbah led Pakistan in 73 ODIs and brought a calm, analytical approach to captaincy that was sometimes criticised for being too conservative but proved effective in stabilising a team that had been through a turbulent period. He remains one of the most respected figures in Pakistan cricket history.
Azhar Ali (2015–2017)
Azhar Ali led the ODI side primarily when Misbah was resting or unavailable. His stint produced reasonable results, and he remained part of the setup as a reliable senior batsman for years after his captaincy ended.
Sarfaraz Ahmed (2017–2019)
Sarfaraz Ahmed led Pakistan to the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy title, beating India in the final in London in one of the tournament’s most memorable upsets. Sarfaraz Ahmed’s captaincy led to the 2017 Champions Trophy win, which stands as Pakistan’s last major ICC title to date.
His captaincy came under pressure after poor results in 2019, including a group-stage exit from the World Cup, and he was replaced by Babar Azam.
Babar Azam (2019–2024, with interruptions)
In ODIs, Babar captained Pakistan in 43 matches, securing 26 wins and 15 losses. Overall, his captaincy across 187 matches yielded a win percentage of 56.75. Pakistan did not win any ICC trophy under Babar’s captaincy, but his overall win percentage is impressive.
After stepping down from captaincy in all formats following the 2023 Cricket World Cup, he was reappointed as Pakistan’s white-ball captain in March 2024, only to resign again in October 2024, citing workload and a desire to focus on his batting.
Babar’s captaincy record with the bat was extraordinary. He scored consistently as captain and led Pakistan to some strong bilateral series wins, but the lack of an ICC trophy during his tenure ultimately defined much of the public debate around his leadership.
Mohammad Rizwan (2024–2025)
Mohammad Rizwan took over as Pakistan’s white-ball captain in October 2024 and marked the beginning with immediate success, leading Pakistan to a historic ODI series victory over Australia, their first bilateral series win on Australian soil in 22 years.
That was followed by a 2-1 series victory against Zimbabwe and a 3-0 win over South Africa, the first time the Proteas had been whitewashed at home in an ODI series.
The momentum did not hold. Pakistan won just two of their 11 matches in 2025, starting with a loss to New Zealand in a tri-series final followed by an unceremonious group exit in a home Champions Trophy.
Rizwan captained the side in 20 ODIs, securing 9 wins and suffering 11 losses, equating to a 45.00% win percentage. He was replaced in October 2025.
Shaheen Shah Afridi (2025–present)
In a major shake-up ahead of Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against South Africa, Shaheen Shah Afridi was appointed as the new ODI captain, replacing Mohammad Rizwan. The PCB confirmed that the appointment was finalised following a meeting attended by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, Director High Performance Aqib Javed, and members of the selection committee.
Since the start of the 2023 World Cup, no fast bowler from a Full Member nation has taken more wickets than Afridi’s 45 in ODIs, which have come at more than two wickets a game. His first assignment as captain ended with Pakistan winning the ODI series against Sri Lanka 3-0 in November 2025.
The latest move signals a strategic shift as Pakistan prepares for the 2027 World Cup, likely giving Shaheen a longer run as leader in the build-up to the tournament.
As of June 2026, Shaheen Afridi remains the current Pakistan ODI captain.
Pakistan’s Most Successful ODI Captains by Win Record
| Captain | Matches | Wins | Win % |
| Wasim Akram | 109 | 66 | ~61% |
| Imran Khan | 139 | 75 | ~55.9% |
| Babar Azam | ~60 | 39+ | ~56.7% |
| Asif Iqbal | 37 | 18 | ~48.6% |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 87 | ~44 | ~51.7% |
When measuring win percentage, Wasim Akram holds the best record among Pakistan’s ODI captains with substantial tenures, having led Pakistan to 66 wins in 109 matches at 61.46%. By sheer number of wins, Imran Khan leads with 75 victories, with the added weight of a World Cup title.
The Pattern of Pakistan’s Captaincy Changes
One theme runs through the Pakistan Cricket Team ODI captains list more clearly than any other: instability. PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s administration alone faced criticism for frequent captaincy changes, having removed Shaheen in 2024, reinstated Babar Azam, and later appointed Rizwan, all within a matter of months.
Pakistan has had more ODI captains than most major cricket nations. The reasons are familiar to anyone who has followed the team closely: PCB politics, selectors changing priorities, player form and fitness concerns, and the occasional controversy that forces an immediate decision.
The teams that have succeeded for Pakistan in ODI cricket, the 1992 World Cup group under Imran, the 2017 Champions Trophy side under Sarfaraz, have tended to be ones where the captain had time to build genuine combinations and team culture. The pattern of frequent changes tends to work against exactly that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Pakistan’s first ODI captain? Intikhab Alam was the first captain for Pakistan in ODI cricket, leading the team in its first ODI match on February 11, 1973, against New Zealand.
Who is Pakistan’s current ODI captain? As of June 2026, Shaheen Afridi is Pakistan’s One Day International captain.
Who is the most successful Pakistan ODI captain? Imran Khan is regarded as Pakistan’s most successful ODI captain, having led the team to 75 wins in 139 matches and to Pakistan’s only 50-over World Cup title in 1992. By win percentage, Wasim Akram edges ahead with 61.46% from 109 ODIs.
How many ODI captains has Pakistan had? Pakistan has had 30 ODI captains in its history, though some served only briefly as stand-in leaders for one or two matches.
Who captained Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy win? Sarfaraz Ahmed led Pakistan to the 2017 Champions Trophy win, defeating India in the final at The Oval in London.
Why was Mohammad Rizwan replaced as ODI captain? Pakistan won just two of their 11 ODIs in 2025, including a group-stage exit at a home Champions Trophy and consecutive series losses against New Zealand and the West Indies. The PCB then appointed Shaheen Afridi in his place.
Pakistan’s ODI captaincy story has no shortage of drama, talent, or debate. What’s clear from the full list is that the captains who left the biggest marks were those given time to actually lead, Imran, Wasim Akram, Misbah in Test cricket at least, and Sarfaraz at a single tournament. The conversation around whether Pakistan gives its captains enough stability to build something lasting is one that never really goes away.
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