• Pakistan are yet to name distinct captains for all three formats of  game.
• Sarfraz Ahmed scored 355 runs in four innings for Pakistan.
• Aqib criticised Shan Masood’s selection as vice-captain for the ODI series.

According to former Pakistani bowler Aaqib Javed, the national team is not yet prepared to name distinct captains for each of the game’s three formats.

There have been requests to name alternative captains for the white-ball and longest formats following Pakistan’s poor showing against England and New Zealand in the five Test matches and since Sarfaraz Ahmed’s improbable comeback.

However, Aaqib has dismissed the suggestion.

“I wonder who is suggesting appointing different captains for different formats. It is good that Sarfraz Ahmed came back and performed well, but it doesn’t happen like that, that you play two Tests and shake the whole system,” he told  in an exclusive interview.

The wicketkeeper-batter scored 355 runs in four innings against New Zealand as he made his almost four-year-long comeback to the national Test team.

“There is no Test in eight months. All this is being done based on agenda and propaganda. It is indeed a challenge to take all three formats together, as it is difficult for the coaches and the captain,” said Aqib, the head coach of PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars.

He said that all this is not just the thought of the new management committee but the desire of other people.

“I think that the new management committee has to work on increasing the pool of players. Now we are not ready to make separate captains for each format,” he added.

The former bowler emphasised that before copying cricket superpowers Australia and England, Pakistan should first prepare well.

“Sometimes we want to be Australia, sometimes we want to be England. First, learn from their success story, England lost badly in the 2015 World Cup held in Australia. But after that, they made a plan and followed it. Brendan McCullum made it more modern. The style of cricket they are playing now is not traditional cricket anymore. We have to do our homework first, and then we have to make some decisions,” he explained.

Shan Masood’s selection as the ODI vice-captain for the New Zealand series, according to Aqib, was a mistake on the part of the team management.

“It should not have happened, Shadab Khan is the vice-captain of white-ball cricket. If he is injured, then there was no need to announce him as vice-captain,” he said.

“By making Shan the vice-captain, it seems that Babar Azam and the board are not on the same page. Everything revolves around the captain, as he has to plan and play the team on the ground, so the board must be onboard with the captain,” he added.

Aqib also praised interim chief selector Shahid Afridi and noted that he had accomplished a few commendable feats, such as bringing back Sarfaraz and providing deserving players a chance in domestic cricket.

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