Azhar Ali's fate: PCB to take a call on captaincy after conclusion of ODI series against Australia

Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has said that the fate of ODI skipper Azhar Ali will be decided following the conclusion of the ongoing five-match series against Australia.

The 82-year-old`s comments came after Pakistan lost the ODI series 1-3 after their crushing 86-run defeat in the fourth match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Sunday.

"I don`t want to talk about Azhar Ali in the middle of the series. We will decide about the captaincy once the ongoing series finishes," Shaharyar said in an interview.

Shaharyar further admitted that the side`s performance was below par, especially in the fielding department."Team`s performance was extremely poor, especially in the fielding department.

In the third ODI, the fielders missed some chances, but in the fourth match they dropped five catches. How can you expect [Pakistan] to win a match with that performance?," he added.

Talking about Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq`s future, the PCB chief said the decision completely lies with the 42-year-old before reiterating that they want to give a rousing send-off to the country`s most successful captain in the five-day format, the Express Tribune reported.

"We have left the decision of retirement on Misbah, as he can decide what`s best for him. There is still some time left before the start of the new series.

We are not thinking on the lines of giving him a farewell match, but he is our most successful captain in the Test format, so we want to give him a fitting send off," Shaharyar said.

Pakistan will now play an inconsequential fifth and the final ODI against the Steve Smith-led side on Thursday at Adelaide Oval.