Pakistan are a week away from flying to Australia for three T20Is and two Tests. And in the case of Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali, life, in some sense, came full circle on Friday (October 18). Azhar had to relinquish the ODI leadership role he held back in 2017 after Pakistan were beaten 1-4 in Australia. And to Sarfaraz. Now in 2019, he will take over the reins of Pakistan's Test side from Sarfaraz, while Babar Azam has been handed the responsibility of the T20I side.  |
| Azhar Ali aims |
Azhar Ali aims to quash fear of failure from ranks
The Pakistan Cricket Board stripped Sarfaraz off captaincy duties after the now-former skipper across formats reportedly refused to give it up when asked by the board. Sarfaraz's dwindling form in Tests and ODIs has been a matter of contention for quite some time now. The T20I home series whitewash to Sri Lanka recently, though, added fuel to the fire, upping the angst. Azhar was always in the fray to take over Test captaincy, and the announcement came leading into Pakistan's opening stint in the World Test Championship, in what will be a fresh start for them.
While Azhar heaped praise on the former skipper and the manner in which he led Pakistan, he stressed on the need to build a culture within the team. With the assurance of the captaincy stint being not being a stop-gap arrangement, Azhar is determined to implement his own ideas.
"We need to build a team culture wherein we make the right decisions under pressure and stay calm. We need to take positive options and empower players to take their own decisions when they're in those situations. This is something that I've learned from my own cricket, and I'll try to do better. We can't tell players everything, so we should teach them to take better decisions and once that happens, the results will follow."
Azhar is currently Pakistan's leading batsman in Tests and he had also quit ODI cricket last year to focus on the longest format of the game, which he describes as the "best format". Currently, he has 15 centuries and has scored more than 5600 runs. His first challenge is a major one. And it begins on November 21. Given that Pakistan have not had much success in Australia, it's an uphill climb for him and his side. That said, he is up for the challenge.
"Our track record in Australia isn't great. But I see this as a great opportunity to play fearless, positive cricket. You can't beat Australia without playing positive cricket. So my message to the players will be to play aggressive cricket. It's not easy to beat Australia in Australia, but it's a chance for me to transfer my experience to the younger players and lead by example to leave a legacy that will always be remembered. I will ensure that the fear of loss or failure will not be felt by any of my players."
