Reports: Sarfaraz Ahmed likely to be retained as T20I captain; Azhar Ali to lead in Australia Test series

The Sri Lankan tour of Pakistan turned out to be a nightmare for the Pakistan cricket team. The No.1 ranked T20I side; a side that hadn’t lost a T20I to Sri Lanka since 2013, proceeded to get whitewashed by a young side in front of their own fans.

The Sri Lankans – led by all-rounder Dasun Shanaka- played out of their skins, making ideal use of the opportunity that they got. For the uninitiated, as many as ten Sri Lankan cricketers including the likes of Lasith Malinga, Angelo Matthews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Mendis, and Kusal Perera had opted out of Pakistan due to security concerns.

But despite the absence of their gun players, Sri Lanka found new heroes in almost every game. While it was the likes of Danushka Gunathilaka and Bhaunka Rajapaksa in the first two T20Is, it was the turn of Oshada Fernando to showcase his precocious talent.

So, following a 0-3 drubbing, the Pakistan Cricket team, head coach and selector Misbah-ul-Haq and skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed have garnered immense criticism from all corners of the country. While the pundits and ex-cricketers are lambasting Misbah and Sarfaraz for their team-selections, fans have taken to Twitter to hilariously troll the skipper while some have gone to the extent of burning the effigies of Sarfaraz, demanding his removal from the leadership duties.

PCB retains its faith in Sarfaraz – The white-ball captain

Misbah-ul-Haq was particularly candid about Sarfaraz and his team’s dismal performance in the post-series press conference. When asked about the poor batting and keeping form of Sarfaraz, Misbah gave another tongue-in-cheek reply, “Yes, only the wicketkeeper is not playing well, the rest of the 10 players are doing so well,” Misbah gave another cheeky reply to the reporter.

However, if the reports are to be believed according to Bussiness Reporter, the Pakistan Cricket Board and the management have retained their faith in Sarfaraz’s leadership, and the wicketkeeper may find himself leading the side in the T20Is during the upcoming tour of Pakistan.

Earlier in the press-conference, Misbah had hinted about the potential return of Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez into the set-up but their return is now subjected to their performance in the upcoming National T20 Cup. Meanwhile, Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal are expected to be axed from the side, following their poor showing against Sri Lanka, while Test opener Azhar Ali is expected to take up the leadership duties during the 2-match Test series in Australia.

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