Pakistan to get a new Test captain? Azhar Ali in prime contention

The Pakistan  crickett eam will  reportedly continue with its overhaul as it is being reported that batsman Azhar Ali will replace Sarfaraz Ahmed as the new Test captain of the Pakistani side. Sarfaraz may also lose his white-ball captaincy. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is said to be making these considerations on the request of new coach Misbah-ul-Haq. Pakistan will be touring Australia in November. 

ALSO READ | Former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara speaks about Men in Blue

Misbah is not satisfied with Sarfaraz's efforts

Sarfaraz Ahmed became quite a polarising figure in Pakistan cricket after the team's disappointing campaign in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. After Misbah-ul-Haq was hired as the new Pakistan coach, Sarfaraz was retained as the skipper of the team. Fresh reports are emerging that Misbah is not happy with the way Sarfaraz has demonstrated his leadership and is requesting the PCB to appoint a new captain. Sarfaraz is most likely to lose his Test captaincy and may also lose his limited-overs captaincy.

ALSO READ | Cricket: A look back at top 5 famous self-inflicted injuries

Top-order batsman, Azhar Ali, is the prime candidate to replace Sarfaraz as Pakistan's Test skipper. Wicket-keeper batsman, Mohammad Rizwan, is touted to be the vice-captain to Azhar. All-rounder Mohammad Hafeez is one of the prime candidates to take over the limited-overs side from Sarfaraz. The PCB, however, is not very keen on experimenting with a new captain just before Pakistan's tour of Australia. The management is already experimenting with younger players in the Australia series with an eye on the future.

ALSO READ | Aravinda De Silva turns 54, wishes pour in for the champion cricketer

Pakistan's last performance

Pakistan last hosted Sri Lanka in a controversy-ridden bilateral series which saw cricket return to Karachi after a decade. Pakistan clean swept the ODI series by winning all the matches which were played. The T20 series, however, was completely dominated by Sri Lanka as they won all three matches and took the trophy home. Sarfaraz had been retained as captain just before the series began.

ALSO READ | Cricket: Sundar Raman could be back as BCCI advisor on ICC - Report