I'm not doubting Sarfaraz as a positive stroke maker or someone who can create chances as a positive captain. He can make things happen, no doubt. However, unlike the shorter formats, in test cricket, he is mainly in the side as a WICKET KEEPER. I think he clearly has technical deficiencies and while I'm no longer big on technique, to me, it simply seems he doesn't crouch enough or in layman terms, doesn't stay low enough for long enough. MS Dhoni is a classic case study of having improper technique, but his is more down to catching the ball in unusual ways (crocodile catching) and not down to fitness or staying low. If you see test matches of him in India, where the ball is spitting venom on Day 5, he may well concede byes to deliveries that jump of a good length, but never to those that stay low. The key is, chances generally are the ones that stay down. Slip fielders generally cover those chances that tend to jump and in any case, MS was 9/10 to even those that jumped. Considering how poor countries are when travelling, each chance is huge in the context of the game. In my opinion, Sarfaraz doesn't cut it in test matches and this has been going on for a long long time. It's just that when you win, as Pakistan have, these things get erased from debriefs and analysis.
On to Azhar Ali, while I agree he's awful in limited overs and simply doesn't cut the mustard as a ODI/T20 cricketer, you can only blame him and his defensive tactics so much. Sorry if I hurt you guys by saying this, but as well oiled a test side as Pakistan have been in the past decade, their limited overs is at least 10-15 years outdated. What do you want a captain to do? Can you name one dynamic batsman from Pakistan after Inzamam who can consistently make tons at a run a ball? Every next 'big thing' has either allowed to let his own hype get into his head (Umar Akmal) or he's been hyped for absolutely no apparent reason. Your best ODI cricketer at the moment is Shoaib Malik (I rate Azam highly, but there is time yet to rank him as the best in Pakistan) and Shoaib Malik is not even in the top 20 ODI batters in world cricket. At his absolute destructive best he will strike at 140's and there are ten names at the top of my head that can do so at 140 consistently and make runs twice as more consistently. So, while Azhar Ali has been poor, any ODI/T20 Pakistan captain will be made to look poor simply because of the lack of fitness, fielding prowess and explosive batting. I don't see any other valid candidate to captain Pakistan in tests. On the basis of sheer load of runs, Azhar Ali deserves a proper chance with Asad Shafiq as his deputy.
I think after induction, Shehzad can be tested as well, But Imaad seems quite mature and he really posses the leadership quality atleast the way he is appearing so far.. Aussies should watch out his bowling. He will be a threat to Warner in the ODI series.
