Sarfaraz Ahmed lost the captaincy of Pakistan Cricket Team. Moreover, he has been dropped from the upcoming tour of Australia.

Sarfaraz sacked

Pakistan Cricket Board has sacked their regular captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. Azhar Ali and Babar Azam have been appointed as captains of Pakistan’s Test and T20I sides respectively. Sarfaraz has been also dropped from both the squad touring to Australia. Azhar Ali will lead Pakistan in Tests in the 2019-20 season while Babar Azam has been given the responsibility of the T20 reigns till the T20 World Cup next year in Australia.

Under Sarfaraz Ahmed’s captaincy, Pakistan won the Champions Trophy in 2017 and rose to the top of the T20I rankings. But following the World Cup debacle and the home series disaster against Sri Lanka, the board decided to take a call.

On Sarfaraz’s exclusion, PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani said, “It has been a difficult decision to drop Sarfaraz Ahmed, who has performed well as a player and a leader. But, his loss in form and confidence is visible and, in the best interest of the team, it has been decided to leave him out and provide him the opportunity to reflect and regroup himself and try to reclaim his form away from international cricket.” He further acknowledged the contributions of Sarfaraz as a player and skipper.

New captains speak

Azhar Ali, on the other hand, shared his happiness and said, “I feel humbled, excited and privileged, and with the support of the team, look forward to justifying the faith that has been entrusted upon me for the World Test Championship.” He also opined how Sarfaraz was excellent in transforming raw talent into experienced players, “I now look forward to inspiring those skillful players in our endeavours to collectively achieve our World Test Championship objectives and beyond.”

One of the finest batsmen of the contemporary cricket, Babar Azam also accepted the challenge and thanked the board for showing faith.”To be named captain of the No.1 ranked side in the world is the biggest thing that has happened to my career to date. I am ready for this challenge and also willing to learn more in the process. I feel it has been a natural progression for me and I am delighted that the PCB has put faith in my capabilities.” Babar expected that the former captain will make a comeback soon.

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