Who will lead Pakistan ODIs? PCB confused

Karachi: Confusion reigned supreme in Pakistan cricket once again after the drubbing the national team received at the hands of England in the ongoing one-day series that ends tomorrow. The Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Shaharyar Khan apparently is also confused over whether to change the captain of the national one-day team ahead of the series against the West Indies in the UAE or not. In an interview to the daily "Jang" newspaper, Khan who is in London these days on a private visit, confirmed that the board was contemplating appointing a new captain in place of Azhar Ali before the West Indies series. "Yes we are thinking about it and we will sit down and discuss it before the team is announced for the West Indies series," Khan said. But two days later he was quoted on a cricket website as saying that the PCB would give Azhar Ali more time to prove himself as a worthy captain. To further confuse matters, the media has reported that the PCB officials in London have apparently conveyed to Azhar that it would be best for him to step down himself as he was a senior player and they didn't want to announce they had removed him. The senior batsman was a surprise choice as the Pakistan ODI captain after Misbah-ul-Haq retired from the format following last year's World Cup. The board surprised everyone by appointing Azhar although he had not been considered for ODI cricket since mid-October by the national selectors. Pakistan's former captain and great, Wasim Akram, however, has pleaded for time to be given to the players to settle down. "They are young players and things will not change overnight, we have to be patient now," he said on Geo channel. Interestingly, just a few days earlier Wasim had said that the board should appoint wicketkeeper, Sarfaraz Ahmed as the ODI captain as Azhar had failed to inspire his players in this format. Former players also appear to be divided over the decisions that the PCB should take after the England tour to revive the ODI and T20 squads. While former captain, Muhammad Yousuf believes that no more time should be wasted in making necessary changes, former captain, Rashid Latif appears to have a different view as he believes Pakistan cricket is not dead in ODI and T20 formats and the young players need to be given more time.