Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has on Monday (November 9) reacted to the reports of the limited-overs captain Babar Azam replacing Azhar Ali as a Test captain of the national side.
It is being reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to sack Azhar as a Test captain and appoint Babar as the new captain of the longest-format of the game following his failure in England.
Azhar was appointed Test captain in October last year after Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed from captaincy across all three formats of the game and since then, he has so far led Pakistan in nine Test matches and managed only two wins apart from his own failure with the bat.
In Pakistan's recent tour of England, Azhar's failures with the bat had badly exposed the team as they suffered a 1-0 loss in the three-match series, forcing PCB to take a decision over his future as Test captain.
In May 2020, PCB confirmed Ali as captain for the 2020/21 international season, but now they are likely to appoint Babar ahead of Pakistan tour of New Zealand.
Well, Akhtar said it will be unfair to sack Azhar as Test captain only after one bad outing, saying it’s not really a good idea while backing the batsman that he will now give his 100% in the upcoming games.
Shoaib said on his Youtube channel, “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.”
The former pacer also took a dig at the PCB and the team management regarding the matter, saying it’s only players who have to suffer for the team's bad performances and not the management.
He added, “It is disappointing to see that it's always the players who suffer in such a scenario while the management stays the same.”
On speculations of Azam replacing Azhar as the next Test captain, Shoaib said the limited-overs captain is evolving as a captain at the moment and only if he is confident of doing leadership duties across the formats without damaging his performance, then he can be hand over the tough role.
He signed off by saying, “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.”
(With India Today Inputs)
