Abdul Razzaq: “If you want to change captain, then you have the option of Sarfaraz. Rizwan and Shan Masood are options as well. A captain should not be just a good cricketer, he should be a good person as well”
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Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq said Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shan Masood were all suitable candidates to replace Babar Azam as Test captain.
The 29-year-old resigned as skipper in all three formats following Pakistan’s elimination from the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, where he made 320 runs in nine matches, which included four fifties, at an average of 40.
Ultimately, Masood was announced as Azam’s successor in Tests, while left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi took over as T20I captain.
As of yet, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not announced who will replace Azam as ODI captain.
“If you want to change captain, then you have the option of Sarfaraz. Rizwan and Shan Masood are options as well. A captain should not be just a good cricketer, he should be a good person as well. These three have these qualities and will look after the players,” Razzaq was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan won their first two World Cup games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before falling to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite bouncing back with wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, they lost their last group stage match against England by 93 runs.
Pakistan will now play a three-match Test series against Australia, which will begin on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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