Pakistan’s legendary batsman Zaheer Abbas is surprised by the naming of Azhar Ali as the nation’s ODI captain and believes that it would put the young cricketer under pressure because he had not been part of the one-day squad for the past two years.
Abbas said Ali had not been part of the ODI side for the past two years and had now suddenly been named ODI captain. Like many experts and players, he added that he too was surprised by Ali’s appointment as ODI captain. Ali has replaced Misbah-ul-Haq as ODI captain after the latter announced his retirement from one-dayers following Pakistan’s World Cup tour.
Abbas said captaining Pakistan team was not an easy job — particularly when one is not part of the team for such a long period, adding that Ali would not only have to lead the team but perform with the bat as well which, of course, would not be an easy task particularly in the prevailing circumstances, The Dawn reported.
The former skipper, however, wished the new ODI captain good luck with his new assignment ahead — the Bangladesh series, which Abbas termed as a big challenge for Ali and his team.
