Pakistan Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed has finally faced the axe and the latter is not just sacked as the national captain but also lost his place in the Test and T20I squad. The Pakistan Cricket Board took the decision after a humiliating 3-0 loss against a second-string Sri Lankan side at home. The 31-year old was under the raider for a long time and the change of captaincy was on the cards. The Pakistan cricket team had a dismal year and Sarfaraz Ahmed also faced a lot of criticism.

Babar Azam will replace Sarfaraz in the ODI side while Azhar Ali will handle the reins of the Test side. The 25-year-old Babar has been the side’s best batsman for quite some time now and was also named as the vice-captain in the previous tour against Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Azhar Ali is a veteran of the game and has previously led the side as well. Pakistan's next assignment is the Australia Tour where a lot will be in the stakes for the new skippers. The ODI skipper is still not announced by the board while the vice-captain of Tests and T20Is will be announced later.

The Pakitan’s 2019-20 Tour of Australia will get underway on November 21. The struggling Pakistani side will be against the mighty Aussies and it will be interesting to see how they will tackle the challenge. Pakistan are ranked seventh in the ICC Test match rankings and will want to improve their ranking in the upcoming Tour.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 18, 2019 02:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).