Azhar Ali and Babar Azam are performers, and possess the ability to lead from the front for Pakistan

[Abdullah719]

Many thanks to [MENTION=142432]Titan24[/MENTION] for this write-up regarding the recent captaincy changes in the Pakistan side.

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/fuTiCDE.jpg" width="700">​

Another chapter and era of Pakistan cricket appears to have concluded - the twilight of Sarfaraz Ahmed's career. While the new Head Coach-cum-Chief Selector Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis will be thinking about their next series assignment in Australia, Sarfaraz will be pondering over his future.

From leading Pakistan to an Under-19 World Cup win in 2006 via a thriller of a final against India to winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 against the same arch-rivals, there is one thing which nobody can have any doubt about and that is the passion for the game Sarfaraz had from a young age. He wasn't the most naturally gifted cricketer but with his hard work, he got into Pakistan's national side when he debuted in 2007 in ODIs. However, his struggles didn't stop there as he was dropped soon after his debut. Between 2007 and 2011, he played a few ODIs and 1 Test match but couldn't do anything of note. It was 2012 when he played his first gutsy knock of 46 not out in the Asia Cup final against Bangladesh, which Pakistan won. It was the 2014-2016 period when Sarfaraz hit his purple patch and scored three 100s in the Test format alongside 2 in ODIs, and in 2015 he became part of the World Test XI.

If only Sarfaraz would have continued to show the same passion he showed as a young player towards the game of cricket to improve himself as a cricketer and a leader in recent times, things could have been different. But, since the CT17 win, not only did Sarfaraz fail to improve, rather he deteriorated in terms of his performances, leadership and fitness. This was reflected in the team's performances as well which lost every important match and series since 2017 with the exception of a T20I series win and 1-0 win over Australia in a Test series in UAE. With a dropped catch in his last T20I against Sri Lanka, his keeping which was once considered one of his main weapons over his predecessor Kamran Akmal, let him down in what was possibly the final nail in an already deep coffin.

Almost every successful captain in the history of cricket not only made the team on merit, but rather was one of the best players on the field or a powerful personality inside the dressing room. That is because as a leader, you need to be able to inspire others and that can only be done by leading from the front and earning the respect of the players in the dressing room. Considering all this, it was high time for Sarfaraz to be removed from this position, though it would have made more sense if the decision was made in tandem with the appointment of the new coaching staff. That would have enabled a smoother transition process, but nevertheless it was a much-needed decision.

In the Test format, Sarfaraz Ahmed has been replaced by Azhar Ali, a decision which has resulted in mixed reactions from Pakistan fans. There are a few cons to consider; Azhar Ali has been out of form for the last 2 years, with an average of just 25 with the bat. At the same time, he is 34 years old and has been struggling with knee injuries for the past couple of seasons. However, taking into account the lack of options in the Pakistan Test line-up, Azhar Ali being the most experienced and statistically the best batsman after Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq over the last decade was arguably the strongest contender for the role.

One factor that can work in favour of Azhar Ali is his experience as a Test player: He has been part of a successful Test unit which reached number 1 in the Test rankings. He also has some prior experience of leading at domestic level as well. While he had a pretty forgettable tenure as ODI captain, that was not a format he should have captained in to start with, considering his temperament and style of play which wasn't suited to 50-over cricket. That stint shouldn't affect the expectations from him in the Test format, where he is an established cricketer with prior achievements. Sarfaraz hasn't left much of a legacy in Tests for Azhar to live up to with Pakistan struggling at #7 in the Test rankings, unlike the team Sarfaraz himself inherited which was unbeaten at home for almost 6-7 years. The appointment of Azhar may also be a stop-gap measure, until Babar Azam finds his feet in the Test arena and becomes ready to take over.

Replacing Sarfaraz in the T20I format, where he has left a legacy with Pakistan still being the number 1 ranked side, with 11 consecutive series wins not too long ago is not an easy task. The wonder boy of Pakistan cricket, Babar Azam has been tasked with this responsibility. Currently ranked as the number 1 batsman in this format, Babar is also ranked number 3 in ODIs. Being amongst the fastest in ODI history to 2000 and 3000 runs, along with being only the third Pakistani to score three consecutive centuries, everything Babar has touched in LOIs turns into gold. The young batsman has the world at his feet in LOIs and is now leading the World's number 1 T20I side, with a T20 World Cup coming up next year. He has experience of leading Pakistan in the Under-19 World Cup and has been given an opportunity to lead the Central Punjab team in the 2019/20 domestic season to gain much-needed experience. He scored a hundred in his first T20 match as captain, to show glimpses of what he is capable of. Babar has been the best performer for Pakistan in LOIs since his arrival on the scene; all factors considered, he is the right choice to be T20I captain and he can eventually take over Pakistan's ODI team as well next year.

Both Azhar Ali and Babar Azam fulfil a basic trait to be a good captain in cricket, and that is that they are both performers and have won Pakistan matches. Thus, they will be respected by the dressing room and possess the ability to lead from the front. Whilst people may be right regarding their apprehensions towards Azhar Ali's recent form, but a dozen Test matches shouldn't define a player of his calibre.

At the same time, people may be wary that the added responsibility of captaincy can hinder Babar's batting. At the same time, we need to realise that the opposite may happen, as we are seeing with some other captains in international cricket who are also the best batsmen of their respective teams and have gotten better after becoming captains.

Nobody has and nobody ever will be able to predict what the future holds with full confidence, so let's see what the future holds for a veteran like Azhar Ali as Test captain and a young prodigy like Babar Azam as the captain of Pakistan's T20I team.

 

[barah_admi]

Good write up!

I like both appointments, especially if Ali is just there as a caretaker for when Babar takes over. How long that period is will likely be based on how well Pakistan do in tests against Aus and SL.

For both men, they are entering sides that need results and confidence. Pakistan in T20s have been great since its conception, so this dip will likely be a short one. However, it has been an entirely different story for Pakistan in test cricket during the 21st century, apart from those years under Misbah, the side has lurched from captains like Akram, Younis, Inzamam, Khan etc, all of whom had egos bigger and better than their captaincy tenures.

Pakistan's test cricket has to rise above mediocrity and to do that, they need to find better cricketers. Babar is already showing signs of being the best batsman of this or any other Pakistani generation but all the promise of Amir and Asif has been lost and we found some in Hasan Ali....sadly he seems unable to progress as a bowler. Shaheen, Hasnain and a few others may pick up the slack but they are years away from their best. This is the most important period for Pakistan in recent times and Azhar will have to perform like he did 3 years ago while also maintaining an astute grasp of the game.

Tricky times for the whole set up.

 

[Mercurial]

You have absolutely got it wrong when it comes to Azhar Ali. He won't last long at international level. One of the worst decisions ever by Misbah.

 

[Shazzam]

We have already seen how Azhar Ali captains. He is worse than Sarfraz.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Out of form for 2 years? Sorry its more like a slump and a player simply not good enough for international cricket any more. Azhar has failed to step up even once since MisYou retired. Azhar shouldnt even be in test team right now.

 

[JibranAnsari]

He is not out of form , he did well in UAE last year , its just he won't be able to bat well outside UAE.

You don't lose form in mid thirties , you go towards the eventual retirement.

 

[Titan24]

He is not out of form , he did well in UAE last year , its just he won't be able to bat well outside UAE.

You don't lose form in mid thirties , you go towards the eventual retirement.

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Younus Khan defied that with the record most centuries post 35 years of age and he did have poor series in between. So you never know.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Younus Khan defied that with the record most centuries post 35 years of age and he did have poor series in between. So you never know.

he usually used to have at least 1 big score in a series , even a bad one. Azhar ali isnt younis khans level , younis was an excellent player of spin and he used to have a 50 plus strike rate usually. Azhar ali is limited and can not be compared with younis khan.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

His County performance for Somerset is also not good this year.

 

[IAJ]

So now we will lose the only good batsman we have in shorter formats. Babar is not a leader type, he screams even more than Sarfraz and starts yelling at his players if they run him out. Let’s hope for the best.

 

[King_Kohli]

You have absolutely got it wrong when it comes to Azhar Ali. He won't last long at international level. One of the worst decisions ever by Misbah.

+1

 

[Mercurial]

Younus Khan defied that with the record most centuries post 35 years of age and he did have poor series in between. So you never know.

Please don't compare Azhar Ali with Younus Khan. He is no way near Younus Khan's calibre.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

We have already seen how Azhar Ali captains. He is worse than Sarfraz.

In a wrong format. Where he was finding his feat as a player , opener and captain the same time. He did well as an opener , the times were pak would lose both their openers inside 5 overs or power play during Misbah captaincy era is long gone after he walked in as opener in ODIs. He failed as an ODI captain but in tests it’s a different ball game, he should’ve been made captain after Misbah retired. CT win got sarfraz the title.

 

[Junaids]

The idea that a man can REVERSIBLY “lose form” for two years from the age of 32 is absurd.

When you are that old it’s not a loss of form - it’s an age-related permanent decline.

Younis and Misbah were freaks. They were fitter than their team-mates but they also had techniques in which they played the ball very late, right under their eyes.

Azhar Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed were always less fit, but also had techniques less likely to survive the loss of hand-eye coordination in their thirties.

This decline is permanent, and Misbah has a responsibility to retire Azhar now, now to make him the skipper.

 

[Shazzam]

In a wrong format. Where he was finding his feat as a player , opener and captain the same time. He did well as an opener , the times were pak would lose both their openers inside 5 overs or power play during Misbah captaincy era is long gone after he walked in as opener in ODIs. He failed as an ODI captain but in tests it’s a different ball game, he should’ve been made captain after Misbah retired. CT win got sarfraz the title.

It does not matter what format captain he was in. He has tactical defiance's and the inability to show a fight back. His body language is poor. There is nothing about him that screams captain. Fact is he already failed as a captain and now we are expecting him to do well in the hardest format of the game. That to me is illogical.

 

[The Viper]

It could get very messy if Azhar does not step up with his performances.

Azhar did well last time in Aus, but the pitches very flat- you would expect potentially more seaming tracks.

Cummins, Hazelwood could dismantle him.

 

[Danyaalr01]

So now we will lose the only good batsman we have in shorter formats. Babar is not a leader type, he screams even more than Sarfraz and starts yelling at his players if they run him out. Let’s hope for the best.

I've never seen Babar scream at his teamates.

 

[Titan24]

he usually used to have at least 1 big score in a series , even a bad one. Azhar ali isnt younis khans level , younis was an excellent player of spin and he used to have a 50 plus strike rate usually. Azhar ali is limited and can not be compared with younis khan.

Please don't compare Azhar Ali with Younus Khan. He is no way near Younus Khan's calibre.

Not comparing both but I am pretty sure nobody would have predicted Younus scoring record centuries post 35. My point was everyone can criticize the decision but at the same time there is always a chance of something positive happening which nobody is expecting. As I do remember many posters countlessly saying to drop Younus (Even with all his class) in almost every series post 35 which dIdnt go as plan.

There werent many other sane options available in my opinion, there is a difference between what we want us to have in terms of availability and what is actually available and I think many people get confused with that without realizing none of the options that management had would have made any better sense. I havent read one astounding replacement by anyone and now the best we can do is to support and hope.

 

[Titan24]

The idea that a man can REVERSIBLY “lose form” for two years from the age of 32 is absurd.

When you are that old it’s not a loss of form - it’s an age-related permanent decline.

Younis and Misbah were freaks. They were fitter than their team-mates but they also had techniques in which they played the ball very late, right under their eyes.

Azhar Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed were always less fit, but also had techniques less likely to survive the loss of hand-eye coordination in their thirties.

This decline is permanent, and Misbah has a responsibility to retire Azhar now, now to make him the skipper.

If 12 matches of poor performances make someone a finished product than God knows how many great to decent batsman would have finished before 35.

 

[Titan24]

Out of form for 2 years? Sorry its more like a slump and a player simply not good enough for international cricket any more. Azhar has failed to step up even once since MisYou retired. Azhar shouldnt even be in test team right now.

The idea that a man can REVERSIBLY “lose form” for two years from the age of 32 is absurd.

When you are that old it’s not a loss of form - it’s an age-related permanent decline.

Younis and Misbah were freaks. They were fitter than their team-mates but they also had techniques in which they played the ball very late, right under their eyes.

Azhar Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed were always less fit, but also had techniques less likely to survive the loss of hand-eye coordination in their thirties.

This decline is permanent, and Misbah has a responsibility to retire Azhar now, now to make him the skipper.

Just to quote one recent example as I know that there are many; Faf Duplesis was 34 years of age when he played 10 matches in 2018 with an average of 24 in comparison to Azhar’s 11 with average of 25.

By what you guys are suggesting Faf Duplesis not only shouldnt be captaining the side but he doesnt deserve to be in the team as a player.

On a side not: he is doing well this year which he couldnt have without being in the team.

 

[Markhor]

As I said in another thread, I saw no tactical nous whatsoever from Azhar during his stint as ODI captain that leads me to believe he can be a successful Test captain, especially when his own position is under threat.

The way he crumbled under pressure during that crunch Abu Dhabi chase vs NZ, where his strokeplaying limitations were painfully exposed when Williamson pushed the field back, was instructive. He was appalling in South Africa when we desperately needed our seniors to step up, yet he and Shafiq remain the golden boys of Pak cricket establishment, and won't be going anywhere under Misbah.

The sad part is after the World Cup and with a new Test Championship, PCB had an ideal chance to make a clean break and invest in the future. Instead we wasted one more series on Sarfraz for no reason having axed literally everyone else but the janitor - and now will sacrifice this WTC to yet another "transitional period" on a stopgap appointment in Azhar.

 

[Khan12]

Lol. Azhar Ali a performer. He should be kicked out for his pathetic performances over the past 2 years.