Azhar Ali Was Forced To Accept Test Captaincy, Claims Shoaib Akhtar

Former Cricketer says Azhar Ali needs to focus on his batting as his performance for last couple of years was not that much good and he is at the verge of losing his captaincy due to poor performance in recent matches against England.

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Oct 27^th, 2020) Test Captain Azhar Ali was forced to accept captaincy by Pakistan cricket Board (PCB), former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar claimed on Tuesday.

Shoaib Akhtar said that Azhar Ali was performing poor in the last couple of years and he was under huge criticism since the day he became captain of the Test team.

“Azhar was forced to accept captaincy by the PCB,” said Shoaib Akhtar while talking on a local tv channel.

The former cricketer who is also known as “Rawalpindi Express” advised Azhar Ali to step down as a captain and focus on his batting.

“Azhar is not batting well for last couple of years and he needs to focus his batting,” he added.

He claimed that PCB made him captaincy and now was putting pressure on him.

“He [Azhar] is under huge pressure and is at the risk of losing his captaincy,” he added.

“You just focus on your game and make it clear that whether you want to lead the team or not. Because this is not the point to continue with a sword hanging over your head,” said Shoaib Akhtar while elaborating his view about Azhar Ali and his captaincy.

Azhar Ali was appointed as Test Captain after PCB last year removed Sarfraz Ahmad from the captaincy of Test team. Azhar was also on radar after he held a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan without informing the board. Head coach Misbahul Haq and all-rounder Hafeez were also there in the meeting.