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Is Azhar Ali the right choice for Test captain?

Is Azhar Ali the right choice for Test captain?

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MenInG

MenInG

PakPassion Administrator
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Appointed as Test Captain for the WTC - Test specialist by profession but his leadership skills were called into question during his stint as ODI Captain but is he the right choice?
 
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Guess stung by having one captain for all formats - they went for Azhar Ali but apart from Shan, who else there?
 
No, wrong choice by a few years. Hes batting has been that of a tailender in last 18 months and has shown no signs of improvement. A few easy runs in domestic cricket doesnt change that fact. With Tours to Australia and england and his reflexes completely gone he will be a walking wicket. shouldnt even be in side, let alone captain.
 
No we've made a failed captain in both domestic and international captain, who's own form is a worry and as a result no one knows where he should bat.

Should have just let him focus on his batting.
 
This is typical PCB fashion with one step forward and two steps backward......
 
since jan 1 2018

11 matches 21 innings 540 runs 1 hundred and 4 50s

average 25.4

reward : Captaincy


welcome to misbah and friends team.
 
ads101 said:
No we've made a failed captain in both domestic and international captain, who's own form is a worry and as a result no one knows where he should bat.

Should have just let him focus on his batting.
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Failed at domestic? Last time I checked he took a weak Baluchistan team to a pentangular cup final few years ago and is leading CP decently in QAE trophy and they are at the top of the table at the moment.

He was a bad choice for ODI captaincy because his style didn suit the format. He can definitely improve from where Sarfaraz has left us behind in tests.
 
JibranAnsari said:
why are we shy of having young captains , why not babar azam or even imam ul haq.
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Apart from Greame Smith, which young captain (U-25 with less than 30 tests) was successful in tests the last two decades? Babar is obviously eventually gonna take over.
 
So we've replaced one captain who doesn't merit a place in the team with another captain who doesn't merit a place in the team.

What was the point of wasting the series vs Sri Lanka ? PCB should've been bold in the summer and backed Babar for Tests with maybe Imad as a limited overs captain.
 
JibranAnsari said:
since jan 1 2018

11 matches 21 innings 540 runs 1 hundred and 4 50s

average 25.4

reward : Captaincy


welcome to misbah and friends team.
Click to expand...

And the reason why Sarfraz was relieved of captaincy duties was because he was "under-performing" :yk
 
Despite Azhar's horrific performances in the last 2 years, I can understand the choice. They don't want to give Babar some more time and there really isn't another choice.

That said, I hope they keep a tight rein on Azhar. If he doesn't perform in Australia (I don't expect him to), there should be no waiting, drop him and move on with Babar.
 
JibranAnsari said:
why are we shy of having young captains , why not babar azam or even imam ul haq.
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Not shy. Seniors will stand against them and deliberately underperform. But u will never if they are underperforming or they are not in form.

Just like azhat ali who hibernated ever since sarfraz made test captain. Nobody knows if azhar is out of form or underperforming. Azhar was playing really well and making a name for himself as an opener under MA suddenly everything overturned. Young captains doesnt work the way it shouldve especially in pakistan.
 
Damn sure Azhar will step up to this challenge and transform his batting prospects. His best shot should be as an opener, hope he realizes that and goes back to open the innings.
 
ask_analyse_act said:
Not shy. Seniors will stand against them and deliberately underperform. But u will never if they are underperforming or they are not in form.

Just like azhat ali who hibernated ever since sarfraz made test captain. Nobody knows if azhar is out of form or underperforming. Azhar was playing really well and making a name for himself as an opener under MA suddenly everything overturned. Young captains doesnt work the way it shouldve especially in pakistan.
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if deliberately underperforming , he should be the first name out of the team not sarfraz.
 
Azhar Ali has always performed when he was the captain if you look at his previous record.

Everyone who is criticizing this decision may also share which alternative they have to lead the team if not Azhar Ali.
 
I can see it ending quickly for him if he keeps up his poor international form. Would've taken the gamble by giving it to Shan but our competition among Test openers is strong, meaning Shan hasn't even cemented his spot yet. And it's too early for Babar - even him getting T20I captaincy might arguably be a tad too early.

Imam doesn't even have a place in the Test XI and Haris lacks the attitude and fitness. Shafiq performs once a series, is only a year younger than Azhar and his runs have been a lot less impactful than Azhar's.

Amir is gone.

That leaves you with Azhar, so I guess he's the only option at the moment. Will take him in the interim, hoping that he's somehow improved. Regardless, he's the only viable option now.
 
It's weird though because in the past whenever Sarfraz left the field, Shafiq was the acting captain.

PCB's planning is always so poor lol.
 
It had to be between Azhar and Asad end off ...we are at that stage so it was absolutely right decision. Not that he has great credentials or something but we had no choice...
 
TTTF!

That extra T is for timid.

There is no place for acha bacha type players in cricket, let alone being the captain!

Azhar can't even handle the pressure of batting, the additional stress that captaincy brings would eat him alive.

Also, hasn't he been tested as a captain and failed miserably? Looks like it's the recycling season at PCB with Misbah, Waqar and Azhar's appointments!
 
HappyWarsFan said:
Maybe it means that he isn't a sure starter anymore - after all, he is a mediocre player.
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A mediocre player on one of the worst Test teams. On merit, only Shan, Haris, Asad and Babar deserve spots in the Top 6 batting.
 
Rayyman said:
A mediocre player on one of the worst Test teams. On merit, only Shan, Haris, Asad and Babar deserve spots in the Top 6 batting.
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What is the merit when Shan with an avg of 26 FC avg of 34 make the top 6? Both Imam and Abid have better FC avg than Shan while Imam also have an avg of 28 in tests which is more than Shan. Not to forget Shan is 30 while Imam is 23.

I like Shan's attitude and dont mind him in the squad but to be honest dont know the merit in his selection.
 
Titan24 said:
What is the merit when Shan with an avg of 26 FC avg of 34 make the top 6? Both Imam and Abid have better FC avg than Shan while Imam also have an avg of 28 in tests which is more than Shan. Not to forget Shan is 30 while Imam is 23.

I like Shan's attitude and dont mind him in the squad but to be honest dont know the merit in his selection.
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He never deserved a comeback, but credit to him he made the most of it in SA. Shan scored 2 fifties in tough bowling conditions vs Steyn, Philander and Rabada.
 
Rayyman said:
He never deserved a comeback, but credit to him he made the most of it in SA. Shan scored 2 fifties in tough bowling conditions vs Steyn, Philander and Rabada.
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A team that Sri Lanka best 2-0 lol.

Fawad should replace Asad Shafiq, Rizwan replace Sarfraz and maybe get Amir Yamin at 7, that should be good.
 
It's not the worst decision in the world and I don't think it's going to make a difference to the expected drubbing down under.

However, I would like to have seen a more inspired choice with some fresh ideas rather than going back to the same old tired faces.
 
No. He was finished 2 years ago.

Yet another pathetic decision by the PCB that will end in disappointment.
 
Mamoon said:
No. He was finished 2 years ago.

Yet another pathetic decision by the PCB that will end in disappointment.
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Who were the other options? Shafiq is too mediocre, Babar has no experience, Shan is not proven.
 
This is a awful decision that will comeback to bite PCB. Azhar Ali is not captaincy material. He admits defeat before the match starts. I expect to see plenty of whitewashes with this decision.
 
Absolute pathetic decision. He deserved to be dropped but gets made captain instead.
 
Stop gap. Babar is too young to know what a whitewash in Australia feels like. Might as well sacrifice Azhar whose career is pretty much done.
 
JibranAnsari said:
if deliberately underperforming , he should be the first name out of the team not sarfraz.
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Azhar is a man of integrity. No way he would under perform , infact I’m sure none of the players would . This is a thing that happened possibly in the earlier years .

There is a slump in Azhar Ali’s form and worryingly it’s continued . Captaincy may bring the best out of him .
But all these conspiracy theories about underperforming etc really need to be put to bed .
 
I guess he could be a decent short term captain, but not worth a long term investment.

His form is declining already and we may soon see another captain who does not perform.
 
HappyWarsFan said:
Who were the other options? Shafiq is too mediocre, Babar has no experience, Shan is not proven.
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Shan should have been the stop-gap captain before Babar is ready. He is the first-choice opener along with Imam, he is in the right age group, his fitness is exceptional and he is educated.
 
Mamoon said:
Shan should have been the stop-gap captain before Babar is ready. He is the first-choice opener along with Imam, he is in the right age group, his fitness is exceptional and he is educated.
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Shan doesn’t have the seniority cushion and is in the danger of getting dropped if he doesn’t perform consistently. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s dropped for Shehzad for the next series.
 
People who are pushing Shan as captain rather than Azhar are forgetting that his stats as bad as Azhar's.

Where as Azhar's stats for the last two years are 25 ave, Shan's career stats (ie his all the time he's played!) is 26

Oh and cherry picking and saying he performed well in South Africa, well Azhar made more runs than him in series before South Africa against New Zealand (Azhar's 307 to Shan's 228 over 3 matches). How is he a better option?

Look, both are not performing great, but putting in another non-performing player as captain is not gonna get the respect of the rest of the team, as compared to Azhar who historically has performed and should have really been made captain after Misbah retired. Azhar probably has another 2 years left in his career - He's more the temporary option than Shan.

Ideally Babar will replace, and him taking over on t20 will give him the international experience for the role.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Stop gap. Babar is too young to know what a whitewash in Australia feels like. Might as well sacrifice Azhar whose career is pretty much done.
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Spot on, with the current batting line-up we've got little chance of winning any test matches there. Best to save Babar the mental scaring of that and leave it to the old man to take the heat if we lose.
 
Joke of a decision this. He should not even be in the Test team, let alone captaincy. Worst Test team in our history.
 
PCB want to make Babar captain in all 3 formats. He is still finding his feet in tests so I don't think they wanted to burden him with the responsibility of captaincy as well.

Azhar Ali would have been a good choice when he had his great run a couple of years ago. Now he is on the decline, he has only been made captain for the test championship for now. I think as a stop gap it's not the worst idea. But he cannot be captain beyond the test championship. Should also be forced to retire because he really is on the decline.

I would try him as opener to see if he can get some form back.
 
Mamoon said:
Shan should have been the stop-gap captain before Babar is ready. He is the first-choice opener along with Imam, he is in the right age group, his fitness is exceptional and he is educated.
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But his stats are rubbish, doesn't even deserve to be in the Test squad.
 
I think they could've made Mohammed Abbas the captain. Not sure if Azhar deserves to be in the Test side (forget about captaincy).
 
Pathetic decision. Last time Misbah and Waqar were at the helm, they made him captain of the Pakistani team and it lead to disaster of epic proportions. We got whitewashed to Bangladesh out of all teams for god's sake.

Absolutely terrible and reeks of Misbah's tunnel vision.

Haris should have been made captain of the team.
 
Mamoon said:
Shan should have been the stop-gap captain before Babar is ready. He is the first-choice opener along with Imam, he is in the right age group, his fitness is exceptional and he is educated.
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Imam 1st choice opener based on what? He was exposed by boult in UAE and out in SA aswell. Far from 1st choice at all.
 
Slim said:
Pathetic decision. Last time Misbah and Waqar were at the helm, they made him captain of the Pakistani team and it lead to disaster of epic proportions. We got whitewashed to Bangladesh out of all teams for god's sake.

Absolutely terrible and reeks of Misbah's tunnel vision.

Haris should have been made captain of the team.
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Haris Sohail should be the vice captain
 
Rayyman said:
Haris Sohail should be the vice captain
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As much as it sounds like a good idea, he worries me with his attitude towards fitness. After one loss, I can imagine the whole Sarfaraz belly thing happening all over again and Shoaib Akhtar ranting about it.
 
King Khan said:
As much as it sounds like a good idea, he worries me with his attitude towards fitness. After one loss, I can imagine the whole Sarfaraz belly thing happening all over again and Shoaib Akhtar ranting about it.
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Yeah, but he's a better option than Imam, Babar, Abbas and Yasir.

I guess Shan Masood is the next best option. He had a decent tour of Africa.
 
King Khan said:
Who do you think should be first choice openers instead?
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Right now no one has proved themselves 1st choice. Shan had a good tour of SA, Abid Ali should be looked at possibly as hes earned right to be given a chance. Imam looked clueless against short ball against NZ and SA and Aussie bowlers will target him aswell.

With Azhar being captain he should open, as moving him to 3 should never have been done, we can then try and strengthen middle order with other players.

Please enlighten me what imam had done in tests to be 1st choice?
 
Interestingly enough the blame for T20I loss to Sri Lanka must be on all 3 (or 2 as Misbah holds 2 positions)....so why just Sarfaraz?
 
MenInG said:
Guess stung by having one captain for all formats - they went for Azhar Ali but apart from Shan, who else there?
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Right decision. They don't have a choice at the moment, the only other choices are Asad Shafiq or Babar Azam. Shan was never a choice, he doesn't even deserve a spot in the team. Abid Ali should play in his spot.
 
Azhar may just make the team on merit as we're short of Test class batsmen. But I can see his captaincy being dull, uninspiring and most damaging of all, too defensive.

A safety first approach in Oz is asking for a right mauling.
 
AFM said:
Absolute pathetic decision. He deserved to be dropped but gets made captain instead.
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Yes, But Dropped for which replacement player??
Shan Masood Needs to Be dropped (He never deserved it in the first place), Asad Shafiq Needs to be dropped, Haris Sohail is an Injury risk, Azhar Ali Needs to Be dropped. Imam Ul Haq needs to Be dropped.
Mohd Amir and Wahab Don't want play (retired from tests).
Shadab & Yasir have lost their form (& ability to Spin)

Looking at the above list it is very hard to come up with 11 players.
 
The real truth is, we have no player of captaincy material in the side.

A lot say Masood is a option - but Salman Butt spoke English too + was educated. Further, consistency in good performances should be the main criteria for captaincy which Masood lacks.

Azhar Ali has been chosen to simply bring in a change quickly. Forced.
 
Amjid Javed said:
Right now no one has proved themselves 1st choice. Shan had a good tour of SA, Abid Ali should be looked at possibly as hes earned right to be given a chance. Imam looked clueless against short ball against NZ and SA and Aussie bowlers will target him aswell.

With Azhar being captain he should open, as moving him to 3 should never have been done, we can then try and strengthen middle order with other players.

Please enlighten me what imam had done in tests to be 1st choice?
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I'm pretty neutral when it comes to Imam, but you're right no one has set the world alight in the opener position. But whats going for Imam, is he's work in progress and his ODI's performances have earned him the right to play in Tests. Specifically, how he plays those matches, ie low risk shot making and for the most part punishing bad balls.

He does have limitations right now but he's shown so far for either ODI and in T20's that hes adapted and improved on any deficiency that he had before. The short ball weakness, Inshallah may eventually be sorted - and although he will be tested he might learn a lot from it.

I would be okay with giving chances either to Abid, Imam or Shan (although not entirely convinced with Shan but does deserves it due to the decent-ish series in SAF)
 
I think he will do well. Decent bloke, respectable player as well.

Should be in the job for 2 years and groom Babar to take over
 
Don't see any other candidate. He seems to be the only option available at the moment.
 
I think Azhar Ali’s form has been shaky recently but still he has a great body of work behind him as a test batsman. Probably only guy who is a guaranteed starter in Pakistan’s test X1 right now. So by that account he is the right pick. Babar Azam is one of the best LOI bats in the world today but he has still not cemented the test spot.
 
Rayyman said:
He never deserved a comeback, but credit to him he made the most of it in SA. Shan scored 2 fifties in tough bowling conditions vs Steyn, Philander and Rabada.
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If making 2 fifties is enough to get you a captaincy, then God save Pakistan cricket! Azhar for all his fallacies has better record then these players who are yet to even cement their places in the team. As it us- only 3 people have guaranteed spots in the team - Azhar, Babar & maybe Haris Sohail. Sohail has major fitness issues & Babar Ali is yet to cut his teeth on T20 captaincy so probably Azhar was the only one out there.
 
Hmmm.

Looking at the poll, looks like PPers probably wanted Khushdil Shah to be the new Test captain.

Not everything is a test tube, folks, and some wild fantasies can't become a reality just because you're a fan of some youngsta beauty who has played barely 10 international matches with no captaincy record.

Tests are no joke.

Azhar's the right choice, at least for now.
 
The bowling is Pakistan's real concern for the Australia series. How effective will Abbas and Shaheen be in Australian conditions as it requires bowlers that can put their back behind each delivery. Will we have Hasnain ready in time to play the series and have an impact? Is Yasir Shah the right choice for the tour? Azhar and the management have a lot of thinking to do.
 
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Did Pakistan make a mistake by making Azhar Ali captain

Feels like Pakistan can't take any wickets under his captaincy. Reminds me of his ODI captaincy stint. I wonder if a deep dive into the odi numbers would show similar results? Did we make a mistake by making him captain instead of going with Asad Shafiq?
 
No he never was the the right choice.

First Misbah and Waqar in Sarfarz's bugz handed over ODI captaincy to Azhar and now Misbah has handed over Test captaincy to Azhar whose performances has been poor in Test for the last 2 years.


We became no.1 Test team due to Younis khan and his ATG UAE performances. This fraud Misbah is getting all the credit for becoming no.1 for 2 weeks. He will destroy our cricket again.
 
To those saying there was no choice. Asad was VC under Sarfraz whose performance was alteast better than Azhar. Babar was another choice as well.
 
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