Summary Shahryar Khan said it was unfortunate to see that Azhar Ali could not prove himself a good leader.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shahryar Khan has revealed in an interview that he himself asked Azhar Ali to step down as one-day international (ODI) captain after losing the series against Australia.
Shahryar Khan expressed it was unfortunate to see that Azhar Ali could not prove himself a leader like Misbah-ul-Haq and Imran Khan, and remained a defensive captain. He said the decision to make Azhar captain of Pakistan failed badly.
The chairman further told that he summoned Azhar Ali in Dubai after losing 4-1 to Australia, and asked him to quit the ODI captaincy as his individual performance was being affected by it. “Azhar Ali, who is a fine human being, got disheartened by this decision and resigned as the vice-captain of Test team as well,” said Shahryar.
Shahryar Khan said that the board accepted his resignation, and he was released from both duties. Let it be known that when Sarfraz Ahmed replaced Azhar Ali as captain, it was told by the PCB that Azhar himself is willing to leave the captaincy, but now it has been unearthed that Shahryar Khan had asked him to do so.
The PCB chief also told that it was not his decision to appoint Azhar Ali as the ODI captain after Misbah-ul-Haq’s retirement, he only did that on the suggestion of senior players and officials.
Azhar Ali was made the ODI skipper of Pakistan team after Misbah-ul-Haq’s retirement in 2015.
