Published: Jan 25, 2017, 10:40 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 25, 2017, 10:40 AM (IST)
Senior batsman, Azhar Ali‘s captaincy has come under scrutiny after Pakistan‘s below par performance in the One-Day International (ODI) series which Australian have already won with one match remaining on Thursday. Azhar’s captaincy style has been described as passive and unimaginative by former stalwarts and critics ever since he was a surprise choice as the ODI captain after the retirement of Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, held in Australia and New Zealand. Azhar had not been selected in the ODI squad for a year and half when the cricket board decided he was the best choice to lead the team.
Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), made it clear that the board was not happy with the team’s performance. “We will decide about the captaincy once the ongoing series finishes. The fielding was below par and to make matters worse we dropped catches in the fourth ODI than how can the team expect to win like this. It has been a disappointing show from the team because after we lost the test series we were expecting they would fightback in the ODIs”, he said. Sarfraz did not discuss problems during Waqar’s tenure due to fear of getting axed
Shaharyar speaking on the future of Test captain, Misbah, stated candidly the decision lies with the 42-year old. “We want to see a fitting farewell for Misbah who has led Pakistan so well in the last six years and is a successful captain but in the end the final decision is his what he wants to do. We have left the decision of retirement on Misbah, as he can decide what’s best for him,” he added.
“There is still some time left before the start of the new series. We are not thinking on the lines of giving him a farewell match, but he is our most successful captain in the Test format, so we want to give him a fitting send off”, concluded Shaharyar.
