Shahid Afridi: “The Australia series is a significant one and I understand this is a huge responsibility. Regarding captaincy, I don’t think there should be any changes, especially in Test cricket. Babar Azam should continue to lead”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Iconic Pakistan big-hitter Shahid Afridi believes it was a bad move to remove Babar Azam as Test captain ahead of the upcoming three-match series against Australia.
Afridi noted that the Australia Test series “is a significant one” and pointed out that Azam should have been retained as Test skipper.
Instead, Shan Masood has replaced the 29-year-old, who stepped down as captain in all three formats after the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
It should be noted that pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi was named T20I captain.
“The Australia series is a significant one and I understand this is a huge responsibility. Regarding captaincy, I don’t think there should be any changes, especially in Test cricket. Babar Azam should continue to lead,” Afridi was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
In the World Cup, Azam accumulated 320 runs in nine matches, which included four fifties, at an average of 40.
Pakistan began with consecutive wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before faltering against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to take down Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to get them into the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their campaign on a low as England crushed them by 93 runs.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will get underway 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
[TS_Poll id=”100″]