ON Friday afternoon came the announcement by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that many, including Sarfraz Ahmed, had anticipated for quite sometime now. Not only was the wicketkeeper-batsman sacked as captain from all three formats of the game, he was also subsequently dropped from the Test and T20 squads for the series against Australia and Bangladesh later this year.

With Azhar Ali taking the reins of the Test team, life has come full circle for Sarfraz. It was almost three years ago that Sarfraz took the reins of the ODI side from Azhar three years ago after the latter was removed on the basis of the very same reasons that have been cited today for the former’s sacking. Such is the sorry state of Pakistan cricket which seems unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

Whilst Sarfraz’s sacking from Test and ODI captaincy would have still made some sense, owing to the team’s terrible performance both home and away of late, it is absolutely baffling to see him being removed as skipper of the shortest format and dropped from the T20 squad. It must be mentioned here that it was under his leadership that Pakistan not only went on to become the world number one T20 side, but also managed to hold that spot for almost two years — a feat that has hardly been achieved by any Pakistani captain in any format.

If there was any format to which he was most suited to as captain, it was T20. One has to only look at his numbers as captain, both in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and international cricket, to know that he really shone as captain in the shortest format of the game. Quetta Gladiators won the PSL 2019 under his watch and were the runners-up in two editions. Pakistan won 29 games and lost only 8 under Sarfraz in the last three years.

His batting form may have dipped in the last two years, but he knew how to make the most of the resources that were available to the team. With the World T20 just 12 months away now, the move is highly risky and defies logic. Besides, it will also put Babar Azam - the new T20 captain - under a lot of pressure.

Whereas the world cricket is moving forward, Pakistan cricket seems to be hell-bent on moving backwards. First the absurd appointment of Misbah-ul-Haq as chief selector-cum-head coach, and now this. To be honest, it would not be surprising if the world’s top-ranked T20 team gets a beating against Australia as well as Bangladesh.

Ideally, the PCB should have kept faith with Sarfraz to lead Pakistan at the World T20 next year. Babar should have been made the vice-captain of the team which would have given him enough time and exposure as Sarfaraz’s deputy.

Removing Sarfraz at such a crucial juncture only invalidates PCB’s hard work and investment in him as T20 captain. What was the point of keeping him the captain for three years if you had to dump him now?

Perhaps, the team management should have also taken the poor form of Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Fakhar Zaman and Faheem Ashraf into account, all of whom have been instrumental to Pakistan’s T20 success during the past couple of years. As has always been the case, it’s the captain who is made the scapegoat, when in reality it was a collective failure and something that needed introspection rather than an impulsive decision.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2019