Pakistan appoints two new captains, Sarfaraz Ahmed sacked

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to sack Sarfaraz Ahmed as the captain from Twenty20 Internationals and Test matches. His poor performance in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka has been named as the primary reason behind his removal.

Pakistan suffered a 3-0 loss in the T20I series against Sri Lanka at their home under the captaincy of Sarfaraz Ahmed. The wicketkeeper-batsman received a lot of backlash after that and it was expected that a call might taken up on him.

PCB has appointed ace batsman Babar Azam as the T20I skipper while Azhar Ali will manage the command in the longest format during the upcoming series against Australia. However, there is no clear message on Sarfaraz’s future as the One Day International skipper as Pakiststan’s next 50-over assignment is in July 2020.

The board has not just sacked him from captaincy but he has also been dropped from the side ahead of Australia tour. Moreover, he has been asked by the PCB to indulge in domestic cricket and regain form if he wants to be a part of the side in the future.

The selection committee is yet to announce the entire squad that will visit Australia for the Tests and T20Is. Here is the schedule of matches that will take place in Down Under from the end of October.

T20 Practice Match (31st October, 2019): Cricket Australia XI vs Pakistan at Sydney

1st T20I (3rd November, 2019): Australia vs Pakistan at Sydney

2nd T20I (5th November, 2019): Australia vs Pakistan at Canberra

3rd T20I (8th November, 2019): Australia vs Pakistan at Perth

Three-day Practice Match (11th November, 2019 – 13th November, 2019): Australia A Vs Pakistan at Perth

Two-day Practice Match (15th November, 2019 – 16th November, 2019): Cricket Australia XI Vs Pakistan at Perth

1st Test Match (21st November, 2019 – 25th November, 2019): Australia vs Pakistan at Brisbane

2nd Test Match (29th November, 2019 – 3rd December, 2019): Australia vs Pakistan at Adelaide