Is it time for Pakistan to look beyond Azhar Ali in Test cricket?

It is definitely not a pleasant time to be Azhar Ali. For the third time in a row, the Pakistan skipper was dismissed without making a meaningful contribution in the series against England. He had labored for 85 deliveries, but just when it looked as if he would kick on and get a substantial score, he nicked James Anderson into the waiting hands of Rory Burns in the slip cordon and was dismissed cheaply yet again.

And with that, Azhar has scores of 20, 18, and 0 in the three innings that he has played so far, and averages a miserable 12.67 in the ongoing series. His captaincy has also come under scrutiny, and things appear bleak for the Pakistani veteran.

2019-A year to Forget for Azhar Ali

The year 2019 was a torrid one for the right-hander. In the table below, let us have a look at Azhar’s performances in Tests played in 2019.

During the whole of 2019, Azhar played 11 innings and scored just 239 runs at an underwhelming average of 21.73. In fact, what is appalling to note is, the Pakistan skipper was dismissed for a score of below 30 on 8 of those occasions. Also, apart from a face-saving 118 against Sri Lanka at Karachi, Ali could not muster even a single score of above 40 during the whole of the previous year.

Azhar’s captaincy under fire as well

Also, during the first Test against England, Ali was blamed for squandering a wonderful opportunity to defeat England on their home soil. At a point, England were tottering at 117/5 in pursuit of a challenging target of 277 runs.

But then, Azhar let the opposition off the hook at a critical juncture. Once Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes started playing some attaching shots, Azhar went on the defensive and spread the field, thus allowing the duo to milk ones and twos with relative ease. And in the end, Buttler and Woakes stitched together a match-saving partnership of 139 runs to allow England to romp home with 3 wickets in hand.

In fact, former Pakistan legend Wasim Akram was scathing in his criticism of Azhar’s captaincy. This is what Akram had to say.

“Winning and losing is part of cricket, but I think our captain missed a trick quite a few times in this game, as far as his leadership is concerned. When Woakes came in, there were no bouncers, no short deliveries, they let him settle down and runs were coming easy.”

Also, in Pakistan’s previous overseas tour Down Under, the Pakistani side under Azhar caved in without even offering a fight. In both the Test matches, the visitors were thrashed by an innings and surrendered meekly.

And what made matters even worse was the fact that their skipper averaged just 15.50 during the entire series against Australia.

Azhar Ali does not have too much time left

Azhar Ali is above 35 years of age and does not have too much time left. He desperately needs a big score under his belt, and he needs it immediately. If his failures continue with the bat, then Pakistan might be forced to look beyond the veteran right-hander.

Can Ali save his floundering Test career?

Well, it remains a tall ask from here on.

Note: All stats have been taken from Howstat cricket and have been updated as on 14th August 2020