The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is all set to announce the next ODI captain of the national team. Babar Azam, who has been a star performer for Pakistan across formats over the last few years, is expected to hold the reigns after taking over leadership duties in T20Is. The 25-year-old successfully replaced the wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed last year in the 20-over format.
Ahmed was sacked from captaincy across all three formats after Pakistan’s humiliating T20I series defeat against Sri Lanka at home. He was also dropped from the Test and T20 squads in a surprise decision. The Board then handed over the captaincy to Azhar Ali in the longest format of the game and Azam was named as the T20I skipper.
PCB is yet to name the skipper in 50-over format ahead of a lone match against Bangladesh at the National Stadium in Karachi on April 3. Notably, Azam is the first-choice for the board as a replacement for Ahmed in ODIs.
However, the former chief selector and head coach, Mohsin Khan doesn’t agree with PCB’s choice as he still feels that Sarfaraz Ahmed is an ideal choice for Pakistan in the white-ball cricket.
“There is no way the PCB or selectors can now justify not keeping Sarfaraz in the ODI team or replacing him with Babar Azam. It would be great injustice with a fine captain and a player. There was pressure on Sarfaraz as captain for all three formats but he is still the ideal choice for the white-ball format.”