Coach Mickey Arthur has reportedly recommended that Sarfaraz Ahmed be replaced as Pakistan captain across formats, as the team looks to recover from their World Cup disappointment.
According to the Press Trust of India, Arthur, in his report to the PCB’s Cricket Committee, which is conducting a post-mortem into the team’s campaign in England, suggested that Sarfaraz be replaced by Shadab Khan in the limited-overs formats, and Babar Azam in Tests.
Arthur himself is not certain to keep the job he’s had since 2016, but he has reportedly asked to be backed for two more years to show results.
Babar Azam is very good at cricket, pass it on.pic.twitter.com/9Ce2UEBkAW
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 28, 2019
Pakistan didn’t qualify for the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup, losing out to New Zealand on net run-rate. Big losses to West Indies in their opening game and arch-rivals India proved costly. The first casualty of the result was Inzamam-ul-Haq, the chief selector, who decided against seeking an extension after three years in the role.
Inzamam, Arthur and Sarfaraz appeared before the committee led by Wasim Khan, the PCB managing director. Former captains Wasim Akram and Misbah-ul-Haq are also part of the review.
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According to Daily Jang, Sarfaraz told the committee that Pakistan’s performance was “satisfactory”. Arthur, meanwhile, reportedly highlighted the Champions Trophy 2017 win under him, and blamed the exit of fielding coach Steve Rixon for the team’s lapses in this area.
The panel is expected to meet with some of the main stakeholders again before submitting their recommendations to PCB chief Ehsan Mani.
