By Asghar Ali Mubarak
Rawalpindi: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed Babar Azam as the new Test captain replacing Azhar Ali. Azhar, who captained Pakistan in Tests in England earlier this year, has been sacked over his poor form. Babar’s first assignment will be to captain Pakistan in two ICC Test Championship matches against New Zealand next month.
Babar is now Pakistan’s captain across all three formats of the game. “I feel truly honoured to have been appointed Test captain and join some of the most iconic players who have captained Pakistan in the purest format of the game. I can now say with conviction that dreams can come true only if you chase them with honesty, dedication, and commitment,” said Babar after being appointed as captain in supreme format.
“I am ready and prepared to take up the additional responsibility and the thing that gives me additional confidence that I can do the job is the experience that is available to me in the changing room in the shape of the players and support staff,” he added.
Meanwhile, PCB’s Chairman Ehsan Mani, who confirmed Babar’s appointment, thanked Azhar for his contributions. “I want to thank Azhar Ali for stepping up last year by captaining the side in what was a historic first home Test series in over a decade. I believe Azhar still has a lot of cricket left in him and Pakistan cricket can continue to make the best use of his experience and knowledge as specialist top-order batsman moving forward,” he said. “Babar Azam was identified at a very young age as a future leader and as part of his progression and development, he was appointed white-ball captain last year. With his consistent performance and leadership skills, he has demonstrated that he is ready to take on the additional responsibilities of a captain,” he concluded. It must be noted here that under Azhar Pakistan won a home series against Sri Lanka and home Test against Bangladesh. Whereas, lost Test series in Australia and England.
