PCB removes Sarfaraz Ahmed as Test and T20I captaincy

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has removed Sarfraz Ahmed from captaincy of Test matches and T20.

According to the details, PCB has removed Sarfraz Ahmed from captaincy and Azhar Ali has been appointed captain of the national test cricket team.

Azhar Ali will lead the national test team in two tests against Australia.

Whereas, Babar Azam has been made captain of the national T20 cricket team.

He will lead the national T20 team in three Twenty-20 matches against Australia.

Pakistan are also scheduled to play three T20Is each against Australia (3, 5 and 8 November) and Bangladesh before the curtain falls on their international domestic season in early February 2020.

Azhar Ali has been a mainstay of Pakistan’s batting line-up since making his debut against Australia at Lord’s in 2010.

The 34-year-old is regarded as Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan’s prodigy and has scored 5,669 runs with 15 centuries and 31 half-centuries in 73 Tests.

Azhar had an excellent tour of Australia last time when Pakistan were there in 2016-17 when he had scores of 5, 71, 205 not out, 43, 71 and 11.

His other scores against Australia in England and the UAE are 16, 42, 30, 51, 53, 30, 109, and 100 not out, 18, 4, 15 and 64.

This means the 21st ranked batsman in the world has aggregated 938 runs in nine Tests against Australia, his second most after Sri Lanka (1156 runs in 14 Tests).

In the ongoing four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Azhar is the second most successful batsman with 388 runs in four matches as his side Central Punjab leads the field with two wins.