Reports: Mohammad Hafeez in line to become Pakistan limited-overs captain

That Pakistan cricket is in a disarray is not in understatement. In fact, the entirety of the year 2019 has been one-never ending nightmare for all those involved with Pakistan cricket as well as their fans. The year started with a Test series drubbing at the hands of the Proteas which was followed by a sequence of 11 back-to-back defeats in One-day cricket, including a 0-5 shellacking at their rented home in Abu Dhabi at the hands of the Australians.

The World Cup did not start well, either! A chastening loss in the tournament opener where their batsmen were bounced out by the West Indies pacers was followed by an equally disdainful loss at the hands of arch-rivals, India. All hell broke loose following the defeat against India and skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s nonchalant yawning during the matters even worse with fans trolling the hell out of their captain on social media by posting hilarious memes, GIFs and whatnot!

Pakistan did recover after that set-back, and went on to win their remaining four games but was ousted from the tournament courtesy their poor net run-rate. Following another failed World Cup campaign, the PCB made sweeping changed in the selection panel and the team management. Sarfaraz Ahmed was retained as the captain while Misbah-ul-Haq was given the triple responsibility of a head coach+ chief selector + batting coach.

But, with his first series under the new role ending in a humiliating 0-3 whitewash against an inexperienced Sri Lankan side at home, criticism has galore on the former skipper and the current one, Sarfaraz. There have been growing demands of removing Sarfaraz from the role of the captain.

Misbah-ul-Haq urges PCB to remove Sarfaraz as captain

And, now if the reports published in The Express Tribune are to be believed, Misbah-ul-Haq has made it clear to the PCB that Sarfaraz should not continue as captain and has already communicated the same to PCB’s CEO, Wasim Khan. Test opener Azhar Ali has emerged a strong candidate to take over as captain in the purest format of the game with wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan serving as his understudy.

As far as the limited-overs team is concerned, all-rounder, Mohammad Hafeez has come under consideration as Babar Azam is still inexperienced as skipper. The PCB is, however, reluctant to name a new captain for what is expected to be a tough tour of Australia. According to the source, the management is looking to give chance to youngsters in Australia. So, in case they fail the management can hide under the garb of transitions.

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