Sarfaraz could be retained for Australia tour: report

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could give the national team's misfiring captain Sarfaraz Ahmed yet another chance and retain him as the leader for the upcoming tour of Australia, Daily Jang reported on Saturday. 

Sarfaraz has been under immense pressure since the World Cup, largely due to the team's performances but also because of his poor form with the bat.

Whitewash an eye-opener for us as well as critics: Misbah-ul-Haq

Head coach Misbah says he took over the side only recently, defends misfiring players

The PCB, despite overhauling the entire cricket structure over the off-season, decided to keep the Karachi native. But the post-World Cup show of faith backfired as not only did Pakistan lose 3-0 to Sri Lanka in their disastrous T20I series on home turf, there were no signs of improvement in Sarfaraz's form.

The board is still reluctant to wield the axe, as according to Jang, the chances are that Sarfaraz will still be in charge when the Greenshirts take the field in the first of the three T20Is at the Sydney Cricket Ground on November 3. 

However, the PCB could alleviate some pressure off of Sarfaraz, and the Urdu daily states that the way to do so could be by appointing Azhar Ali as the new Test captain.

READ: Heroes and Zeroes from Pakistan-Sri Lanka ODI series

According to Jang's sources, PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani will have consultation regarding the new T20I captain next week.

Sources further suggest that the squad and the captain for the tour of Australia could be announced during the National T20 Cup in Faisalabad, which starts from Sunday (October 13).