Azhar Ali To Be Pakistan's Next Director Of NCA? PCB Makes Shocking Revelations
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has invited applications for the Director’s position of the NCA. To PCB’s delight, former Pakistan Test skipper Azhar Ali has not only sent his application but has also shown keen interest in taking up the job as revealed by a reliable source in the PCB.
Azhar Ali announced his retirement from international cricket last year and has been playing first-class cricket since then. He is currently in Pakistan for a departmental tournament. Azhar Ali has represented Pakistan in 97 Tests and 53 ODIs and has a massive experience of 263 first-class matches. As of now, Azhar Ali is the last batter from Pakistan to have scored a triple-century in Test cricket.
The PCB will appoint an NCA Director in January. “The PCB is also happy that Azhar has shown interest because of his cricket and educational background,” the PCB source said. Currently, former Test bowler Nadeem Khan is serving his tenure as the interim director of the NCA. The PCB removed New Zealand’s Grant Bradburn from the post earlier this year.
Azhar Ali has captained the Pakistan test side and was one of the most successful in recent times. He achieved the feat of scoring a triple-century in 2016 when he scored 302* against West Indies in a Test match. Azhar Ali could be a great director of NCA given his leadership ability and visionary mind in terms of the game. Grant Bradburn who was the previous director at NCA was removed after a flop show from Pakistan in the recently concluded ODI World Cup.
Azhar Ali Can Take Pakistan To New Heights
Azhar Ali can take the Pakistan national cricket team to new heights, especially in Test cricket. Pakistan’s performance in Test cricket has been dreadful for the past few years. They have lost series at home against England and Australia and they have failed to make it to the finals of the World Test Championship in the two cycles that have been completed as of now.
Azhar Ali can make severe advancements in Test cricket for Pakistan given that he was a Test skipper for Pakistan himself. Azhar Ali has scored more than 7000 runs in Test cricket for Pakistan, averaging 42.26. He slammed 19 centuries which included three double centuries and a triple century. Azhar took on the role of Pakistan’s test captain after Misbah announced his retirement. He led Pakistan in Test cricket from 2018 to 2022 till his retirement.
He has been one of Pakistan’s greatest Test batters and their response to India’s Rahul Dravid. Azhar was known for taking the fuel out of the bowlers with his resilience and defensive attributes. He was Pakistan’s most reliable NO.3 in Tests and has scored runs in all parts of the World. Azhar Ali is one of the few players from the subcontinent to have a double hundred at the historic MCG.
If he is appointed as the Director of NCA, then Pakistan cricket can surely flourish in the red-ball circuit. Currently, Pakistan is facing Australia in a three-match test series where Australia is leading the series by 1-0.
