ApurbSSJ
Core Member
Azhar Ali stepped down as Pakistan's One-Day International (ODI) captain on Thursday (February 9), citing reasons of captaincy affecting his form as a batsman. Sarfraz Ahmed, who has led Pakistan in one ODI and four Twenty20 Internationals, will take over the reins of both sides.
In his last 23 innings as captain, Azhar has scored only two half-centuries and one hundred. In the recently-concluded ODI series loss against Australia, he had scores of 24, 7 and 6 in his three appearances. It was Pakistan's second one-day series defeat in the last five months, after losing to England.
Azhar's captaincy credentials don't boast of stellar numbers either as Pakistan slipped to their lowest-ever ninth position in the ODI rankings (though the are now ranked eighth), having won 12 and lost 18 games under his purview. He managed to lead Pakistan to just five wins over the top eight ODI sides during his stint, all of which came against Sri Lanka. Of the 10 bilateral series that he led Pakistan, they managed five wins - two against Zimbabwe and one each over Ireland, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Following the 1-4 series loss to Australia, Azhar copped criticism from former captain Moin Ali, who called for his axing, saying that he didn't deserve to be captain. The former skipper was critical of the fact that when Azhar was named captain in March 2015, not only was he an absentee from the squad, but also hadn't featured in an ODI since 2013. Moin argued that he should've first cemented his place in the squad and then handed the responsibility.
Sarfraz, who has impressed with his leadership in the shortest format of the game, has so far played 67 ODIs, accumulating 1,498 runs at an average of 34.80. Under his leadership in the four T20Is that he has led Pakistan, they have picked up wins in all of them.
Azhar Ali quits as Pakistan's ODI captain | Cricbuzz.com
In his last 23 innings as captain, Azhar has scored only two half-centuries and one hundred. In the recently-concluded ODI series loss against Australia, he had scores of 24, 7 and 6 in his three appearances. It was Pakistan's second one-day series defeat in the last five months, after losing to England.
Azhar's captaincy credentials don't boast of stellar numbers either as Pakistan slipped to their lowest-ever ninth position in the ODI rankings (though the are now ranked eighth), having won 12 and lost 18 games under his purview. He managed to lead Pakistan to just five wins over the top eight ODI sides during his stint, all of which came against Sri Lanka. Of the 10 bilateral series that he led Pakistan, they managed five wins - two against Zimbabwe and one each over Ireland, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Following the 1-4 series loss to Australia, Azhar copped criticism from former captain Moin Ali, who called for his axing, saying that he didn't deserve to be captain. The former skipper was critical of the fact that when Azhar was named captain in March 2015, not only was he an absentee from the squad, but also hadn't featured in an ODI since 2013. Moin argued that he should've first cemented his place in the squad and then handed the responsibility.
Sarfraz, who has impressed with his leadership in the shortest format of the game, has so far played 67 ODIs, accumulating 1,498 runs at an average of 34.80. Under his leadership in the four T20Is that he has led Pakistan, they have picked up wins in all of them.
Azhar Ali quits as Pakistan's ODI captain | Cricbuzz.com
