Babar Azam used as a pawn to remove Sarfaraz Ahmed, says Rashid Latif

Pakistan cricket is witnessing a controversy over the sudden sacking of its national captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, apparently because of poor form. The 32-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has not just been removed from the leadership in Tests and T20Is but also from the respective teams. The country’s board has picked Azhar Ali to do the top job in the longer format while Babar Azam, who was recently made the vice-captain in T20Is, was quickly promoted in the shortest format.

While the fans have remained divided over the decision on Sarfaraz Ahmed who made Pakistan the No.1 side in T20Is and also won them the Champions Trophy in 2017, former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper Rashid Latif was not happy with the decision and slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision of making Babar Sarfaraz’s successor.

Babar, arguably Pakistan’s best batsman at the moment and also the No.1 batter in the ICC’s list in the T20Is, failed to deliver in the recent series against Sri Lanka that Pakistan lost 0-3 at home. He has previously captained Pakistan in the Under-19 World Cup in 2012 and also Central Punjab in the National T20 Cup. Azam’s first test as the captain of his country will be a three-match series Down Under next month.

According to Latif, the idea of promoting the 25-year-old Babar could hurt Pakistan cricket.

‘hey are using Babar to remove Sarfaraz Ahmed’

“PCB didn’t do any homework or research before appointing Babar as captain. They are using Babar to remove Sarfaraz Ahmed from captaincy which can be damaging for Babar’s career. Even if he does well individually, Pakistan team is likely to suffer,” the 51-year-old made the explosive claim in a YouTube video as quoted by The Express Tribune.

He also said that Babar’s elevation in the T20Is might also affect the team’s set-up for he felt players like Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir might not be happy with it. Latif feared that players’ bonding in the dressing room is set to take a blow and the new captain in Azam will have his task cut out to rebuild the trust among his teammates.

The former cricketer stated that it has hurt the relationships in the dressing room previously and it is likely to happen the same. Latif feels it will take Babar Azam a lot to rebuild the trust within his teammates.

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