Will PCB sack Sarfaraz Ahmed as Test captain?
What's the story
Pakistan have been on the receiving end of late, following their dismal performance across formats. Meanwhile, their regular captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, too, has been under the scanner for his poor captaincy, especially since their group-stage ouster in the ICC World Cup 2019. Consequently, the Pakistan Cricket Board is looking for alternatives as captain, especially in the Test format. Here is more.
Final decision
Final decision on Sarfaraz's Test captaincy to be taken soon
As per a report published in Cricket Pakistan, the PCB would be meeting next week to take a call on whether Sarfaraz should continue as the Test captain. If the majority of members disagree, alternatives would be considered for their upcoming series against Australia, Down Under, starting November 21. Zaheer Abbas, Mohsin Khan, and Shahid Afridi have been against Sarfaraz retaining Test captaincy duties.
ODI captain
Demands for Sarfaraz to be sacked as ODI captain
However, there have been widespread criticisms of late regarding Sarfaraz's overall captaincy, as critics have demanded that he is sacked from all captaincy duties, even in the limited-overs format. Nonetheless, as of now, the PCB has decided to retain Sarfaraz as the limited-overs skipper. Notably, top order batsman Babar Azam was appointed the vice-captain for the recently-concluded series against Sri Lanka.
Captaincy record
Sarfaraz has had a poor record as Test captain
While Sarfaraz might have had a decent captaincy record overall, he has fared extremely poor in Tests, winning just four of the 13 matches and losing eight. In ODIs, he has managed 28 off 50 and lost 20, while in T20Is, he has won 29 off 37 and lost just eight. Overall, he has the best win percentage of 78.37 in T20Is, to date.
Author's take
Should Safaraz be sacked as Pakistan captain in all formats
Considering Sarfaraz's captaincy records, they do give a fair reflection of his performance across formats. He has certainly been far from impressive in the Tests, besides being highly inconsistent in the ODIs. However, the T20Is tell a different story altogether, as their No. 1 ranking in the format proves it. Thus, the author believes Sarfaraz could be done away with in Tests and ODIs.