What’s the story?
On the back of the Champions Trophy 2017 triumph, there is more good news for Sarfraz Ahmed as he has been named as Pakistan's Test captain. The wicketkeeper who led Pakistan to their maiden Champions Trophy will take over from Misbah-ul-Haq, who stepped down.
The 30-year-old, who is the current limited-overs skipper for Pakistan will now lead his country across all formats. He will follow in the footsteps of Misbah, who was the captain of the Test side until his retirement and is also Pakistan's most successful captain in the format.
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In case you didn’t know...
Despite losing their opening game to India in a humiliating manner and losing star fast bowler Wahab Riaz for the rest of the tournament due to injury, Pakistan still bounced back to claim their maiden Champions trophy under the guidance of Sarfraz and his relationship with coach Mickey Arthur will hold him in good stead for the trials and tribulations that is set to come as he takes over as skipper across all formats.
The Details
The 30-year-old wicketkeeper, who is a regular in the Test side will be Pakistan’s 32nd Test captain. Although he hasn’t captained a Test match before the announcement and Azhar Ali, who is a regular in the format, has, PCB have decided to reward the good work he has done in the shorter formats, hoping he can replicate that in the longest format of the game as well.
What’s next?
After victory in the Champions Trophy and the announcement of a World XI playing a T20 series in Pakistan, things are finally going on the right track for Pakistan cricket. On the field, Sarfraz will hope to continue the good work done by Misbah. Although they were scheduled to tour Bangladesh in July, they pulled out of the tour and that means that their next scheduled Test series will be against Sri Lanka in the UAE.
Author’s Take
Given the fact that Sarfraz Ahmed has done a great job since taking over as limited-overs skipper, transforming Pakistan’s fortunes in the shorter formats, it is the natural step for the wicketkeeper to take over as skipper in the longest format as well. The transition, though, will be anything but easy as there are huge boots in the form of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq to fill in the Test side.
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