Azhar Ali to be replaced as Pakistan's ODI Captain

Azhar Ali

As of Pakistan’s 4-1 defeat in a five match ODI series against Australia, Pakistan Cricket Board are seriously acting on Azhar Ali’s captaincy. The board itself, the chief selector, media personnel, and much of the team’s followers are in favor of Sarfraz Ahmed being the new Team Captain. Sarfraz Ahmed is currently the captain of Pakistan’s T20 team.

Azhar Ali was named Pakistan’s captain as of Misbah ul Haq’s sudden retirement from ODI cricket. The exit from World Cup 2015 forced previous Pakistani cricket captain, Misbah ul Haq, to retire from ODI cricket.

Azhar Ali’s individual records are notable, but multiple defeats in series has taken away the confidence of Shahryar Khan to change the captain immediately. Since Azhar Ali was announced captain, he had lead 31 ODIs, winning only 12 of them, and losing 18, leaving enough evidence for the board, to seek another captain.

Azhar Ali won the series 3-0 against West Indies, however that wasn’t enough to boost the confidence of chairman, Shahryar Khan.  Azhar Ali was asked to step down as captain before the West Indies series due to a 4-1 defeat in England. He refused to step down as the captain, and led the Pakistan side for WI series.

“We are more than happy with Azhar as a player, human being, and a person. But his leadership skills have not given us confidence and his place in ODI side is on shaky ground”. Shahryar Khan
Azhar, if removed, will be replaced by the current T20 captain, Sarfraz Ahmed, who is most likely to replace Misbah ul Haq as a Test Captain. Misbah has said that he would decide on his retirement during the Pakistan Super League.





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