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Does Azhar Ali deserve to be the next Test captaincy candidate?

MRSN

MRSN

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After all the fight he has shown on our recent ourseas tours I feel like Azhar deserves to be the captain of the test side. it will be a great injustice to him if other than him gets captaincy. he is respected all over the world with his great performances this year and I'm sure he will have great respect in the dressing room and he can be the player we can rely on. Also he is already captain of our ODI team so it's good to have one captain in both longer formats.
 
Yes. But what might go against him (other than the poor upcoming odi series, potentially) is that he seems to be too much in the misbah mould. That might not be true, but captaincy credentials in Pakistan are assessed basis whoever is making the most noise while in the field
 
Would prefer Sarfraz as he's shown good tactical awareness so far skippering the T20 team and has prior experience of captaincy from his U19 days as well as experience captaining in domestic. He merits a place in all three formats so you can appoint one single captain.

I think he needs the responsibility too - in Tests he's been making these cute 40s and 50s where he's dancing down the track to the pacers but are innings that matter little in the grand scheme of a Test match.
 
Nope.

Azhar is an awful captain.

But we don't really have anyone else, anyway, goodluck to Pakistan cricket because it's going to be downhill for quite a while.
 
Since the end of Inzamam no leader has come forward. Its been a decade. Our cricket is a mess. We produce medium pacer trundlers and hack batters and all not very intelligent in any way.

We got a long way to go. Elite schools need to start playing cricket again and we need someone intelligent confident with ability to captain from the upper class.
 
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There is no other logical choice.

Sarfraz but I have a feeling he will fail to improve his batting.
 
Sarfraz should captain in all 3 formats of the game if we wish to compete with the best teams in the world. In the T20's the other plays enjoyed playing under him and I saw Pak playing at their very best.
 
sarfraz acts like an idiot..acts like a bradman. sleeves all the way up. trying to do crazy things. crazy runs, sweeping fast bowlers,, walk down to fast bowlers and then lose his wicket after 10 or 20 runs

can anyone post his batting record in england, NZ and Aus? thx
 
No.

Being good at batting and being 32 are not criteria by which to select a captain.

He has been exposed as a weak ODI leader and clearly has the wrong personality for the job.
 
In the absence of any outstanding candidates outside the team, we've got to look at the players who could lay claim to having a guaranteed spot in the XI.

That leaves us with Azhar, Shafiq, Sarfraz, Amir and Yasir by my reckoning.

Amir won't get it because he's tainted by the spot-fixing and he hasn't fully found his feet in tests yet. Yasir won't get it because he's been bowling poorly and his stock is low at the moment, his injury history should also be a red flag.

So that leaves Azhar, Sarfraz and Shafiq. We can rule out Shafiq right off the bat because the other two are already captains in pyjama cricket. Azhar has been positioned as heir to the throne and his runs on this tour have boosted his stock immensely so he's got to be odds-on favourite but I think it will come down to the ODI series.

If we give a good account of ourselves in the ODIs then Azhar will get the nod as test captain. If we get battered then Azhar might get the boot as one day skipper, in which case it becomes difficult for the PCB to turn around and appoint him as test captain.
 
Azhar should be captain because he is improving as a captain. His batting form is great. When Younus and Misbah depart he will be the most senior and in-form batsmen in the team. I feel he can actually act like a leader in this format because he wouldn't have been dragged from outside the squad like was the case in ODIS. He will command respect in the dressing room. I would like to see one thing though. Hes got a good mind but he needs to impose himself on the selectors, team and management. Come forward with his own views. Needs to step out of Misbahs shadow and impose his own style of play, whatever that maybe.
 
MRSN said:
After all the fight he has shown on our recent ourseas tours I feel like Azhar deserves to be the captain of the test side. it will be a great injustice to him if other than him gets captaincy. he is respected all over the world with his great performances this year and I'm sure he will have great respect in the dressing room and he can be the player we can rely on. Also he is already captain of our ODI team so it's good to have one captain in both longer formats.
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And when he fails you will blame Misbah like you do for everything else wrong with Pak cricket.
 
azhar cannot lead. PERIOD plus you dont want to lose him as batsman by making him skipper

sarfraz is useless and will lose his spot soon as he is not a a very good wicket keeper and now he bats with no brain and match awareness.

after careful analysis, i have decided to make asad shafiq the skipper. misbah will leave and asad needs to bat at no 4 or no 5. he is calm and polished. yes not as consistent as we would like him to be but we have to retain him as batsman. so lets make him a skipper as well.

will send a note to misbah and inzi. lets see if they listen
 
fast1975 said:
azhar cannot lead. PERIOD plus you dont want to lose him as batsman by making him skipper

sarfraz is useless and will lose his spot soon as he is not a a very good wicket keeper and now he bats with no brain and match awareness.

after careful analysis, i have decided to make asad shafiq the skipper. misbah will leave and asad needs to bat at no 4 or no 5. he is calm and polished. yes not as consistent as we would like him to be but we have to retain him as batsman. so lets make him a skipper as well.

will send a note to misbah and inzi. lets see if they listen
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Can't have a captain who scores a big hundred and then usually fails the rest of the series.
 
Big Mac said:
In the absence of any outstanding candidates outside the team, we've got to look at the players who could lay claim to having a guaranteed spot in the XI.

That leaves us with Azhar, Shafiq, Sarfraz, Amir and Yasir by my reckoning.

Amir won't get it because he's tainted by the spot-fixing and he hasn't fully found his feet in tests yet. Yasir won't get it because he's been bowling poorly and his stock is low at the moment, his injury history should also be a red flag.

So that leaves Azhar, Sarfraz and Shafiq. We can rule out Shafiq right off the bat because the other two are already captains in pyjama cricket. Azhar has been positioned as heir to the throne and his runs on this tour have boosted his stock immensely so he's got to be odds-on favourite but I think it will come down to the ODI series.

If we give a good account of ourselves in the ODIs then Azhar will get the nod as test captain. If we get battered then Azhar might get the boot as one day skipper, in which case it becomes difficult for the PCB to turn around and appoint him as test captain.
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TBH, I feel Azhar should take over the test team and hand over the ODI Captaincy to Sarfaraz. Azhar cannot be captain of both teams plus ODI captaincy would suit Sarfaraz more than tests.
 
in_cutter said:
And when he fails you will blame Misbah like you do for everything else wrong with Pak cricket.
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Azhar has earned it for tests. For ODIs he was forced which was perfect exhibition of how current cricketers with powers influence decision making process in Pakistan cricket. a guy who is not even in the team playing xi of a guy captaining for 5 years recommends him as a captain. just imagine how confused mentality Misbah has. I don't have much to say. good evening.
 
I believe we shouldnt be judging Azhar ali by his ODI captaincy for the following and valid reasons.

  1. he was not in the squad for nearly 3 years before walking in as captain
  3. he has to establish himself as an ODI batsman first which he is still struggling.
  5. asking him to captain the ODI team and also open as an ODI batsman was tough ask and he failed


All this doesnt apply when it comes to test cricket. He has scored no. of centuries already established as a test no.3 and now as an opener scored triple and double ton, only pak batsman to score a double ton in aus
he is an established test player, no pressure on him for his place which he has secured well enough.. Now it is the right and deserving time for him to take the captains arm band..
 
Dr_Bassim said:
Can't have a captain who scores a big hundred and then usually fails the rest of the series.
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exactly. a hard working performing captain not bully of flat tracks and who is honest has every right to lead Pakistan than people we can't rely on. I won't like a player captaining who finds it tough to perform under pressure like Misbah.
 
These discussions are not happening in a vacuum. People know who the options. So by all means write thousand word piece analysis on the foibles of Azhar as captain...but by all means check in with reality and give a few alternate options as well. The decision is upon us now.
 
I personally want Sarfaraz to be captain but it is too much to ask from a guy to be the captain of all three formats, along with being an important cog in the batting line-up as well as the primary duty of wicket-keeping.

I would have been ok with Azhar as captain, but seeing him lead the side in ODIs, I have no doubt that Azhar is not built for the captaincy role. However, even an incompetent Azhar will be better than Misbah "I can't to retire" ul-Haq.
 
He's just turning into a world class batsmen, let him focus on his batting.
 
Syed1 said:
I personally want Sarfaraz to be captain but it is too much to ask from a guy to be the captain of all three formats, along with being an important cog in the batting line-up as well as the primary duty of wicket-keeping.

I would have been ok with Azhar as captain, but seeing him lead the side in ODIs, I have no doubt that Azhar is not built for the captaincy role. However, even an incompetent Azhar will be better than Misbah "I can't to retire" ul-Haq.
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My biggest concern with Sarfraz is I'd be concerned about how much energy a keeper can devote to on-field captaincy when so much concentration is taken up simply by keeping duties. He's in the best position to judge how a bowler is bowling and how the pitch is behaving but it can often be difficult to judge how comfortable a batsman is or any technical chinks in the armour because paying attention to the batsman means taking your eye off the ball.

Fortunately Sarfraz already has captaincy experience which helps his case a great deal and there are still enough experienced players like Azhar in the team to help him out on the field if needed
 
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You cannot do what he did in the second test if you aren't mentally tough.....make azhar captain....and sarfraz needs to cement his place first in the side....he is an ordinary keeper
 
asad shafiq is also a good candidate , he captains Karachi well whenever given chance , azhar Ali had never captained any team before pakistan , sarfraz should be made one day captain while imad wasim as vice captain t-20 and Babar azam in odi
 
Azhar is the first name on the team sheet but Sarfraz should be captain
 
Big Mac said:
My biggest concern with Sarfraz is I'd be concerned about how much energy a keeper can devote to on-field captaincy when so much concentration is taken up simply by keeping duties. He's in the best position to judge how a bowler is bowling and how the pitch is behaving but it can often be difficult to judge how comfortable a batsman is or any technical chinks in the armour because paying attention to the batsman means taking your eye off the ball.

Fortunately Sarfraz already has captaincy experience which helps his case a great deal and there are still enough experienced players like Azhar in the team to help him out on the field if needed
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Well whichever way we go we have to stick by the person. I can see equal probability of sarfaraz or Azhar losing form in any of the formats that they are captaining
 
In tests he doesn't need to prove his place in the team like he does in LO. I think Sarfarz should get it but i wouldn't be too upset if Azhar was named as captain.
 
I feel one of Sarfraz or Asad (Preferably Sarfraz) should be made Captain and Babar Azam should be made Vice Captain.
 
problems with Pakistani fans :

1 : grass is always green on other side . players who are not ready or not part of squad are best in world.
2 : players are best in world or worst in world in matter of 1-2 matches
3 : want everything 100% perfect.
4 : gives way too much preference to away performances while everyone else is happy with their home performances. Anybody heard OZ commentators going after Aus team for series against SL recently ? or Kiwis bashing their team for big failure in ODIs in Aus recently ?
5 : we as fans need to accept it that Pakistan team never had professional approach to the game and never will. none of previous captain did, its not only Misbah.
 
There are three things you are looking for in a captain.

1. Certain spot in the starting xi and someone for whom captaincy will help them elevate their performances, and not put unnecessary pressure.

2. Have unquestioned respect from the rest of the team and no personal disputes.

3. Shares the ethos that the fans and the team wants. It could be stability like Misbah was in 2010 or even just a genuine desire and interest in test cricket like Kohli was (relative to Dhoni).


Tactical nous is impossible to judge unless you want to give captaincy to a player in the latter third of his career. That comes with time and good coaching staff.


Azhar is certainly the first half of 1 and 2. Is he 3? PP can answer.
 
It's between Azhar Ali and Sarfraz.

If Azhar is given the test captaincy (at least he deserves it in this format!) than the ODI captaincy should be handed over to Sarfraz.

Azhar shouldn't be anywhere near the ODI leadership role.

For test cricket, it's a toss up. He's well-respected and at least is one of the first names on the team sheet. I'm not sure about his captaincy but Sarfraz doesn't have much of a track record either in FC cricket.

The only way Sarfraz gets it is if the PCB wants to inject life into the team and take a new path moving forward. Azhar Ali will repeat a "Misbah-like" captaincy approach with a more sedate and patient style of leadership.
 
Yes, he is the only logical choice.

If Sarfraz keeps playing his usual cameos, then his place in the Test team wouldn't even be assured. Has to play more meaningful knocks.
 
It would be a mistake by PCB and would continue the torture we've had to bear the past 5 years. The best player does not have to be the captain. Learn from South Africa.
 
Have little choice and Sarfraz isn't impressing enough in the test format atm, needs to focus especially on his keeping. Azhar is the only one leading from the front, test position assured. Test captaincy is different to LOI captaincy too, so who knows he might be better at it.

Might be a weird decision, but I'd make Sarfraz T20 and ODI captain and Azhar test. If Azhar fails at test, then hand it to someone else. Just don't feel comfortable giving it to Sarfraz atm in tests.
 
fast1975 said:
azhar cannot lead. PERIOD plus you dont want to lose him as batsman by making him skipper

sarfraz is useless and will lose his spot soon as he is not a a very good wicket keeper and now he bats with no brain and match awareness.

after careful analysis, i have decided to make asad shafiq the skipper. misbah will leave and asad needs to bat at no 4 or no 5. he is calm and polished. yes not as consistent as we would like him to be but we have to retain him as batsman. so lets make him a skipper as well.

will send a note to misbah and inzi. lets see if they listen
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Asad's got no captaincy experience, plus he kind of doesn't do to well up the order. Which is kind of bad considering the captain should lead from the front, bit embarrassing we have to send the youngsters up to bat up the order so that Asad can bat at 6.
 
Sarfraz is a good player. You need someone like him to score run a ball. At number 7 you can't expect him to play meaningful innings. Azhar is a good Test player but a terrible leader. I believe his best role is to play as a batsmen. Let Sarfraz take over the captaincy role. We need someone new and fresh. He is the only captain who shows stablity when it comes to captaincy. He will be our Kohli. A aggressive captain we needed in Test.
 
Zohaib Shah said:
Sarfraz is a good player. You need someone like him to score run a ball. At number 7 you can't expect him to play meaningful innings. Azhar is a good Test player but a terrible leader. I believe his best role is to play as a batsmen. Let Sarfraz take over the captaincy role. We need someone new and fresh. He is the only captain who shows stablity when it comes to captaincy. He will be our Kohli. A aggressive captain we needed in Test.
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But you can expect him to shut up shop and defend when needed at 7 when we are trying for the draw. Even tailenders are expected to do that these days. Still he has been getting runs down the order when others are failing, so I don't judge him too harshly.

His keeping is the bigger problem. I don't feel comfortable giving him captaincy when his keeping has been rather mediocre. Rather he focus on that. In tests especially bad keeping is rather costly. He is still our best wicketkeeper overall and deserves his place in the team. I think Sarfraz should take over ODI first too, as Azhar seems horribly unsuited to it, while Sarfraz hasn't looked too bad in T20.
 
Azhar has done nothing to prove he could be a good captain, and in fact has been pathetic as the ODI captain

Meanwhile Sarfraz has proven himself as a great captain and leader at every level- domestically, PSL, T20I...

But this is the PCB we're talking about; so Azhar makes perfect sense
 
MRSN said:
After all the fight he has shown on our recent ourseas tours I feel like Azhar deserves to be the captain of the test side. it will be a great injustice to him if other than him gets captaincy. he is respected all over the world with his great performances this year and I'm sure he will have great respect in the dressing room and he can be the player we can rely on. Also he is already captain of our ODI team so it's good to have one captain in both longer formats.
Click to expand...

Best Test batsman in the team right now, decent ODI bat, awful leader. And there is a clearly better alternative in Sarfraz.

He will hopefully be sacked as captain of the ODI team sooner rather than later, just as he was sacked by the Lahora Qalandars.
 
MRSN said:
Azhar has earned it for tests. For ODIs he was forced which was perfect exhibition of how current cricketers with powers influence decision making process in Pakistan cricket. a guy who is not even in the team playing xi of a guy captaining for 5 years recommends him as a captain. just imagine how confused mentality Misbah has. I don't have much to say. good evening.
Click to expand...

He's earned a spot as a batsman in Tests, nothing more.
 
Next Test Captain : Change mindset, not face

Misbah about to retire, PCB considering next test captain. But PCB has to decide what sort of team it want to build
And what type of leader it requires.

Misbah has his own character and that reflect in his team. He utilized spinners very well and in his era spinners progressed. However, admit it, no fast bowler enjoyed under misbah. He is not good captain for fast bowlers. Fast bowling decline under him.

To cut long story short, every captain has own character and team will transform like that.

Now, Azhar or Sarfraz or anyone else but first decide what character of team you are looking for and what brand f team you want, then decide face.
 
Rafay Shafiq said:
Batting performance is good but here we are talking about big thing that is future team character. If Azhar is appropriate for that character then it's fine
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I dont think Azhar is appropriate . We need Sarfraz as captain

I am just pointing out what would happen not what should. In PCB good batting means your chance as skipper is improved a lot..so Azhar seems most likely right now
 
Ya Allah please make Sarfraz captain all 3 formats, Azhar is useless.
 
Sarfraz is a better captain than Azhar but Azhar is the first name on the team sheet while Sarfraz hasn't scored a 100 in ages so Azhar will be the next captain.
 
The_KING said:
Sarfraz is a better captain than Azhar but Azhar is the first name on the team sheet while Sarfraz hasn't scored a 100 in ages so Azhar will be the next captain.
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Why do people expect to see a hundred from a number 7? He is batting with the tail most of the time.

Azhar is a opener so he will always get chances to score big. Besides who would you replace Sarfraz with? Got a wicketkeeper who can bat in domestic?
 
Only in Pakistan a guy like Azhar would be inline for captaincy despite everybody knowing what a dud he is when doning the captain's arm band.

Best batsman =! Good captain
 
Pakistan cricket has a bad habit of not grooming future captains.

We are once again in a position where the current Test captain is about to leave and the next person is either untried or there are doubts about his capabilities.
 
Sarfraz failed to kick on as a Test batsman while 18 months ago he was WorldClass now Bairstow and Quinton are ahead of him both as batsman and keepers.


Hence Azhar will be made captain because of his Test batting record of last year.


Let's see if Mickey can influence Chairman and Defacto chairman ¿

Highly unlikely.


Giving Azhar Odi Captaincy post worldcup will even cost Pakistan in Test Cricket our strongest format and Misbah & Waqar are responsible for it.


But Waqar was a very good Coach and Misbah is a legendary Captain overall.
 
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