According to reports in Pakistan media, Sarfaraz Ahmed has been removed as Pakistan captain. And as it looks like, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made their mind on the successor.
As per reports by news channel GEO TV, the PCB has selected Shan Masood to replace Sarfaraz in the Test format. The 29-year-old has played 15 Tests and 5 ODIs for Pakistan. Things took an ugly turn for the men in green since their modest show in the recently concluded World Cup in England and Wales.
Pakistan”s dismal show in the WC added pressure on Sarfaraz
Pakistan finishes fifth in the points table despite being tied on 11-points with fourth places side New Zealand. Sarfaraz”s men lost to India in the group stage and trouble started brewing from that point onwards. The likes of former cricketers Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram questioned certain decisions made by the current skipper.
After returning home, while briefing the media, Sarfaraz had said that there is nothing to apologize as the team didn”t play poorly. After losing the majority of the games in the first leg of the event, Pakistan made a strong comeback by beating both England and New Zealand. “There is no need to say sorry. We worked hard and gave our best. The team hasn”t returned with 2-4 points, but with 11. We accept that we didn”t perform well as a team in the 1st 5 matches. But it wasn”t as bad a performance as people are making it out to be,” Sarfaraz Ahmed said.
Sarfaraz refused to apologize post WC exit
“The good thing is the players responded well. In the last 4 matches, we made an outstanding comeback. Unfortunately, we weren”t able to qualify for the semi-final. We acknowledge that we didn”t play well in the first 5 matches. Unfortunately, we were not able to qualify because of the net run rate.” the skipper had said on missing out on a semi-finals spot due to inferior net run-rate.
Further details will be on display as the cricket committee is set to meet on August 2 in Lahore. The PCB will take a call on the leadership role ahead of the start of the Test championship.