Following Pakistan's dismal performance in 2019 World Cup, Sarfaraz Ahmed’s recent form with the bat resulted in him being dropped from Pakistan’s Test and T20I squads.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday sacked the 32-year-old as skipper of the Test and T20I team. Azhar Ali has been named the Test captain, while Babar Azam takes over as the T20I skipper of the national team.
Sarfaraz Ahmad had his ups and downs as captain but will be most remembered for the 2017 Champions Trophy win.
Reacting to his axing, Sarfaraz had said: "It has been an honour to lead Pakistan at the highest level. I want to thank all my colleagues, coaches and selectors who have helped me in this journey. My good wishes are with Azhar Ali, Babar Azam and the Pakistan cricket team, and I hope they will continue to grow stronger and stronger."
Under Sarfaraz Ahmed's captaincy, Pakistan rose to the very top of the T20I rankings, but the tough call from their cricket board comes in the aftermath of the team's home series defeat to a severely-depleted Sri Lanka in T20Is.