LAHORE:
Azhar Ali’s ill-fated tenure as Pakistan’s ODI skipper has come to an end after a PCB announcement declared Sarfraz Ahmed to be the new 50-over Captain of the National side.
The announcement follows Azhar Ali’s resignation from the role after more than 3 years of leading the team, which went through a reformatory period after Azhar’s predecessor, veteran batsmen Misbah Ul Haq, retired from the shorter formats of the game. Azhar went on to lead the side to the wrong side of a whitewash against Bangladesh in Bangladesh, and subsequent miserly performances in England and Astralia, where they team won only one of their five scheduled ODIs. The single match the squad won down-under was also under the leadership of the returning Mohammad Hafeez while Azhar was out on injury.
Under the leadership of Azhar Ali, Pakistan reached a record lowest ranking position of number 9 in the ICC ODI team rankings, and has been feeding on vulnerable teams like West Indies and Srilanka to qualify for the ICC champion’s trophy and to try and avoid playing the preliminary round of the ICC Cricket World Cup. Pakistan played 31 matches under his leadership, winning a mere 12, and losing 18 with one ending with no result.
Sarfraz Ahmed had earlier been considered to lead the side back when Misbah first retired, but Azhar Ali, who had then not played any limited format cricket for 2 years, was picked ahead of him. Sarfaraz was later appointed the T-20 captain, succeeding Shahid Afridi and has largely been successful in his role. The choice seems to be a result of Sarfraz’s proactive and aggressive style of cricket, which he took to his T-20 leadership.
It is not yet confirmed whether Azhar will continue to bat on in the team, where his performance as an opener has been satisfactory. He will however miss Pakistan’s next ODI due to a one-match suspension by the ICC.
