Azhar Ali likely to be axed as ODI captain

Azhar Ali is likely to be removed as Pakistan’s ODI captain after his side lost the series in Australia 4-1.

On Thursday, Pakistan were beaten in the final ODI in Adelaide, that may provide an opportunity to the PCB to replace Azhar with the T20 captain, Sarfraz Ahmed, ESPNcricinfo said in a report.

The website wrote that leadership issues were discussed in a meeting in Lahore during the fourth ODI of this series by PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Mushtaq Ahmed, the head coach at the National Cricket Academy.

They are thought to be united in their belief that Sarfraz should take over the ODI captaincy but will wait until Misbah retires to name a new Test captain, it said.

If Azhar is removed, it will end a difficult tenure that began right after the 2015 World Cup. He was not in the squad for that tournament and had not even featured in an ODI since January 2013.

Under Azhar’s leadership, Pakistan’s slipped to a record-low ninth in the ODI rankings. They have since risen one place to at least be in the running for direct qualification to the 2019 World Cup.

Pakistan have won only five out of ten bilateral series under Azhar, two of them against Zimbabwe, and one each against Ireland, Sri Lanka and West Indies. In all, Pakistan won 12 and lost 18 games.

The PCB has been thinking of removing Azhar for some time. In September last year, following a 4-1 thumping in England, Shaharyar had asked Azhar to consider stepping down.

Azhar decided to stay on, however, and led Pakistan to a 3-0 whitewash of West Indies in the UAE. That win left the PCB no choice but to retain him for the Australia tour.

Source: News agencies