Babar Azam is reportedly mentally ready to replace Azhar Ali as Test captain
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam is mentally ready to replace Azhar Ali as Test skipper, according to sources.
As reported by Cricket Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will meet with Azhar to inform him that Azam will succeed him as Test captain.
Pakistan are set to announce their squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand on November 11 and it is likely that a decision on Azhar’s future as captain of the Test team will be taken before then.
However, it should be noted that Azhar has played down all the speculation surrounding his future as captain, saying that he has not talked to or met with anyone regarding this issue.
“As far as my captaincy is concerned, I am hearing from the media only and I have not held a meeting with anyone about any such thing,” he had said. “I try not to think about any such thing and focus on my game. Once we were on the Australia tour and such types of talks had started. When any official talk will be there then effort would be made to address that. When there is no official talk about this topic, it is very difficult for me to comment on it.”
Other than Azam, wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan and opener Shan Masood are the other names who have emerged as frontrunners to replace Azhar.