Shoaib Akhtar: “I agree that Azhar [Ali] made a mistake in the second innings of the first Test against England, while fielding, for which he was criticised but to remove him from captaincy, based on that match, would be unfair”
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Iconic Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar believes it is unfair that Azhar Ali should be sacked as Test captain based on one mistake.
Akhtar admitted that Azhar could have done better in the first Test against England in August, where Pakistan were on track to win the match but ended up losing by three wickets after Jos Buttler scored 75 and Chris Woakes struck an unbeaten 84.
While many former cricketers criticised Azhar for his captaincy in that match, Azhar feels no player deserves to be judged for their performance in one game.
“I agree that Azhar [Ali] made a mistake in the second innings of the first Test against England, while fielding, for which he was criticised but to remove him from captaincy, based on that match, would be unfair. I’m sure he will give his 100 percent in the upcoming matches,” Akhtar said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
“It is disappointing to see that it’s always the players who suffer in such a scenario while the management stays the same.”
Reports have emerged that limited overs captain Babar Azam is the favourite to replace Azhar as Test skipper ahead of the tour of New Zealand.
However, wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan and opener Shan Masood are also supposedly in the running.