Shoaib Akhtar: 'They will not give Sarfaraz a chance in the team'

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar on Friday stated that Sarfaraz Ahmed will not even get a chance to play in the team. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took away captaincy from the wicket-keeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed in Tests and T20 after Pakistan's humiliating loss to Sri Lanka in the T20 series. According to Akhtar on his YouTube channel, Ahmed was sacked because of his own fault. He further guaranteed that Ahmed will not be allowed to play in the team. Replacing Sarfaraz, Azar Ali has been appointed the Test captain while Babar Azam was handed over the reins for the shortest format of the game.

'Timid captain'

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Pakistan pacer called Sarfaraz Ahmed a 'timid' captain. According to him, "since the last two years, they have been wondering about where Ahmed's positive mindset and aggressive batting went." Further, Akhtar stated that Ahmed could not get out of the influence of Mickey Arthur and he was unable to make any decision and selections.  

Read: Sarfaraz Ahmed resigns as Sindh captain after questions from the press

On Azhar Ali taking over the captaincy

Azar Ali has now been appointed as the Test captain of the Pakistan team. According to reports, Akhtar feels that Ali would not be able to change the results as they are going to compete against Australia. He stated that the scenarios will be changed but the result would remain the same. Pakistan will tour Australia for a three-match T20I and two-match Test series, starting from November 3. 

Read: Sarfaraz Ahmed breaks silence after being booted as Pakistan skipper

Sarfaraz Ahmed sacked

Sarfraz Ahmed was sacked by the PCB after Pakistan's humiliating loss to Sri Lanka in the T20 series. According to reports, Ahmed had been under immense pressure after Pakistan’s continued failures since the Champions Trophy success in 2017. Under the captaincy of Sarfaraz, Pakistan had suffered consecutive failures, including at the World Cup and since then questions were being raised about his ability to lead the side. The fact that Sri Lanka did not have 10 first team players and yet completely outplayed Pakistan seemed to have sealed Sarfaraz's fate. The 32-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz had taken over the reins after Misbah-ul-Haq retired. 

Read: Shoaib Akhtar hails Sourav Ganguly's era as captain, showers praises

Read: Harsha Bhogle distinguishes between Sarfaraz the captain and cricketer

(WITH ANI INPUTS)