Azhar Ali in Tests, Babar Azam to lead Pakistan in ODI and T20Is

Photo: Twitter/@TheRealPCB

New Delhi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday (May 11, 2020) named Azhar Ali to lead Pakistan in the longest format of the game while Babar Azam will be Pakistan's ODI and T20I captain for the 2020-21 season.

Pakistan men’s national team chief selector and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said, "I want to congratulate Azhar Ali and Babar Azam for getting captaincy extensions. This is absolutely the right decision as they also require certainty and clarity on their future roles." 

"I am sure they will now start looking to the future and start planning so that they can build sides that can perform at the expected levels," added Misbah.

Pakistan is slated to play nine Tests, six ODIs and 20 T20Is, besides the Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020.

Pakistan also announced the men's central contract list for 2020-21. Naseem Shah and Iftikhar Ahmad were the two new faces in the 18-player men’s central contract list for the 2020-21 season, which will come into effect from July 1. 

The reason why Naseem Shah has been added to the list because of his feat of becoming the youngest Test bowler in the history to take a fifer and a hat-trick in consecutive Tests against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Karachi and Rawalpindi, respectively. 

Iftikhar, who had the best average and strike rate in T20Is amongst the Pakistan batsmen, played two Tests, two ODIs and seven T20Is in the 2019-20 season.

Naseem’s bowling partner Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took the most Test wickets for Pakistan in the 2019-20 season, is one of the four players to get promotions.

Shaheen, following his 18 Test and two T20I wickets, has moved up in Category A, while Abid Ali (174 runs in three Tests and 74 runs in an ODI), Mohammad Rizwan (212 runs and 16 dismissals in five Tests, 50 runs and two dismissals in five T20Is) and Shan Masood (396 runs in five Tests) have been awarded Category B.

Furthermore, and as part of its commitment and strategy to reward high-performing young cricketers, the PCB has created a new Emerging Players’ Category, and the initial inductees are Haider Ali and fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain.

Haider was a standout batsman for the Pakistan Emerging and U19 sides, whereas Haris and Hasnain showed their skill, prowess, and utility in limited-overs cricket.

In addition to the three and to further recognise players who have performed excellently in the 2019-20 season and/or are in and around the Pakistan men’s national team, the PCB are in the process of creating enhanced domestic contracts for the 2020-21 season so that they remained valued and motivated.

Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, and Wahab Riaz have missed out on central contracts but will remain in contention for selection in what will be a busier cricket season as compared to the one that has just concluded, while Imam-ul-Haq, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Yasir Shah have slipped one category each.

In the forthcoming season, Pakistan is scheduled to play two T20Is in Ireland (July), three Tests and three T20Is in England (July-September), three ODIs and three T20Is in South Africa (October), three ODIs and three T20Is at home against Zimbabwe (November), two tests and three T20Is in New Zealand (December), two Tests and three T20Is at home against South Africa (January 2021) and two Tests and three T20Is in Zimbabwe (April 2021).

In addition to these bilateral series, Pakistan will also feature in the Asia Cup T20 tournament and the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup 2020 in Australia.