Misbah-ul-Haq ponders picking trusted faces and newbies for Australia tour

There has been a lot of commotion in Pakistan cricket over the last few months. The Men in Green floundered in the 2019 World Cup, failing to qualify beyond the league stages under the leadership of Sarfaraz Ahmed. Then they came back to beat a depleted Sri Lankan team in the three-match ODI but. However, the three-match T20I series turned out to be an absolute disaster for the home team.

The hosts couldn’t put up much fight at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and slumped to a 3-0 whitewash. The defeat has sparked criticism for the national team as well as Sarfaraz, who has been frequently greeted with brickbats. Lately, it was learned that Misbah-ul-Haq, the coach-cum-selector wasn’t happy with Sarfaraz’s approach of shying away from taking responsibility in the hour of need.

He also sounded unhappy about the attitude of the few players, who tried to avoid net and training sessions. It would be an understatement in saying that things are a tad messed up in their setup. Pakistan’s next assignment is the three-match away T20I series followed by a two-match Test series against Australia. The series gets underway on Sunday, November 3 with the white-ball fixtures.

Azhar Ali could get Pakistan Test captaincy

In the meantime, it’s been known that Misbah is trying to bring some news faces and some trusted ones back as per reports in The International News. Sources privy to the development have said that a discussion has taken place between Misbah-ul-Haq and Wasim Khan, the Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). There’s a chance that Sarfaraz could well be axed as the national skipper.

Azhar Ali could well be his potential replacement with Mohammad Rizwan being the vice-captain. Mohammad Hafeez’s name is also being contemplated for the limited-overs skipper’s position. The Test team for the Australia series could have the likes of Salman Butt, Sami Aslam, Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Adnan Akmal, Mohammad Musa and Rahat Ali.

As per sources, Misbah has expressed his reservations at Sarfaraz’s leadership skills in his meeting with the board CEO. Coming to the Australia tour, the T20Is will be played in Sydney, Canberra and Perth even as the Tests will be staged in Brisbane and Adelaide.

[interaction id=”5da081079235482ee8174547″]