ormer Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said that it would be unfair to remove Azhar Ali from Test captaincy after one bad game.
Notably, Azhar was appointed Test captain last year in October and in May the PCB confirmed him as captain for the 2020/21 international season for Test matches. Azhar has captained Pakistan in nine Tests- winning 2 and losing 4 of them.
In the 9 games, Azhar Ali has captained, he has an average of 37 less than his career average of 42 with two centuries. Azhar had struggled for runs during the recent England tour but he roared back to form in the final Test with a classy century in the first innings which saved the rain-hit match for Pakistan.
“I agree that Azhar [Ali] made a mistake in the second innings of the first Test against England, while fielding, for which he was criticized but to remove him from captaincy, based on that match, would be unfair. I’m sure he will give his 100 percent in the upcoming matches,” Shoaib Akhtar said on his Youtube channel.
“It is disappointing to see that it’s always the players who suffer in such a scenario while the management stays the same,” he added.
It is being speculated that Babar Azam could replace Azhar as the next Test captain after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO Wasim Khan said that he could not confirm whether Azhar would be captain for the New Zealand tour.
“Babar is evolving as a captain. If Babar believes that he can lead the side in all three formats without jeopardizing his batting form, then he should be made the captain,” he concluded.
