Sarfraz remains limited-over skipper, Babar named vice-captain

Published September 14, 2019
LAHORE: Pakistan head coach-cum-chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq speaks alongside PCB chairman Ehsan Mani during the press conference on Friday.—M.Arif/White Star
LAHORE: Pakistan head coach-cum-chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq speaks alongside PCB chairman Ehsan Mani during the press conference on Friday.—M.Arif/White Star

LAHORE: Wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed was on Friday retained as national ODI and Twenty20 captain by the Pakistan Cricket Board while in a new development prolific young batsman Babar Azam was named vice-captain for the limited-over home series against Sri Lanka starting later this month.

The said series comprises three ODIs and as many T20 Internationals, to be staged in Karachi and Lahore, respectively, from Sept 27 to Oct 9.

The decisions were announced at a joint press conference addressed by PCB chairman Ehsan Mani alongside head coach-cum-chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq here on Friday.

The press conference, however, was held at a time when the Sri Lankan team’s tour to Pakistan is in the doldrums due to security concerns.

The PCB chairman, who holds the sole authority to appoint national captain and vice-captain, said he made the announcement after consulting Misbah and PCB chief executive Wasim Khan.

The 32-year-old Sarfraz is the only survivor of the previous Pakistan cricket set-up who has been retained as skipper. Chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, head coach Mickey Arthur and his entire supporting staff were shown the door in the wake of Pakistan’s poor show at this year’s World Cup where Sarfraz and company failed to reach the semi-finals.

Sarfraz got national captaincy of all three formats in phases. He was first appointed T20 captain in April 2016 and was handed the ODI reins in 2017. Under his leadership, Pakistan — then eighth on ICC ODI rankings — rose to prominence and from nowhere stunned everyone by winning the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in England. The PCB handed him Test captaincy the same year.

Sarfraz holds an impressive captaincy record in T20 Internationals (34 matches, 29 wins, 5 losses). However, the right-handed batsman does not have the same level of stats as ODI skipper (48 matches, 26 wins, 20 losses, 2 no result). His reign as Pakistan’s Test captain is very ordinary as the country won just four out of 13 Tests under him, losing eight of them while one match ended as draw.

The 24-year-old Babar, ranked 16th in Tests, third in ODIs and No.1 in T20 Internationals, with his fine performances with the bat, it seems, can be a serious candidate as future captain. There are reports that he may lead Pakistan against Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series scheduled to be held in December. Though veteran top-order batsman Azhar Ali has also been tipped as future Test captain, but by not giving him captaincy of any provincial team announced for the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, somehow signals the PCB may opt for Babar.

Right-handed Babar captained Pakistan in the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup. He had also featured in the 2010 ICC U-19 World Cup before breaking into international cricket in 2015 and since has been a regular feature of the national side in all formats.

Commenting on his limited-overs captaincy extension, Sarfraz said he would seek to improve his leadership skills.

“I feel humbled and honoured to have been awarded extension to my captaincy term. I have enjoyed captaining Pakistan cricket team and look forward to improving my leadership qualities under the new set-up of Misbah-ul-Haq who also has a proven record as captain,” Sarfraz said.

“I have played most of my cricket under Misbah and we know each other pretty well. I think we will make a good combination, which will contribute to improved performances of the side across all formats.

“I am aware we have not done justice to our potential in ODIs, which has disappointed us as well as our fans. I am hopeful we will be able to turn things around in the coming season and in this relation. I remain committed to stepping up to the challenge with my [own] performances and captaincy,” the skipper added.

“I have complete faith in my team, which has time and again shown talent, class and charisma it possesses. The only thing missing has been consistency, which Misbah and I would like to focus and improve across all departments of the game.”

Mani at the presser expre­ssed his faith in Sarfraz’s capability as captain.

“Sarfraz is an experienced campaigner who has excelled and improved as a leader with every match. I have complete faith in his abilities and I am confident he will continue to blossom under Misbah’s wings,” the PCB chief said.

“We have appointed Babar as Sarfraz’s vice-captain. This is part of Babar’s gradual development as a future captain and in line with our strategy of introducing a succession plan across the board so that there are no gaps. I hope the trio of Misbah, Sarfraz and Babar will do well for Pakistan cricket.”

Speaking at the presser, Misbah said both Sarfraz and Babar deserve their respective assignments.

“I want to congratulate Sarfraz on his confirmation as Pakistan captain and Babar on his appointment as vice-captain. Both are one of the most talented and exceptionally gifted Pakistan cricketers and thoroughly deserve these assignments,” Misbah said.

“Consistency backed up by good performance has been my yardstick for recommending Sarfraz as captain. Furthermore, I think I am better placed to get the best out of Sarfraz as I know him better than most of the cricketers as he has played most of his cricket under my captaincy. I have always been an admirer of his commitment and the energy he brings to the side.

“I have emphasised on changing the dressing room culture and mindset of the players to achieve better results, and I believe Sarfraz is a perfect fit to help me attain these objectives.”

“During the past couple of weeks, Sarfraz and I have worked together on certain areas of his cricket that will enhance his overall performance. Both of us realise it is a performance-oriented world and we are expected to give our best every time we take the field. I look forward to working with him and hope we will succeed in changing the outlook of the Pakistan team.”

Meanwhile, 19 probables for the ODI and T20 series against Sri Lanka will be announced on Monday. The probables will attend the training camp at the National Cricket Academy from Wednesday, till Sept 18.

Meanwhile, PCB chairman said that he was in contact with Sri Lanka Cricket on the upcoming tour to Pakistan.

For the PCB, Mani said, the tour was on and the matches would only be held in Pakistan as the time to hold the series at any neutral venues had already passed.

Mani said it was the job of SLC to select its teams from the available cricketers. It may be mentioned here that 10 prominent cricketers of Sri Lanka have refused to tour Pakistan on security grounds, resulting in Sri Lanka naming diluted ODI and T20 squads for the said tour.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2019

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