Sarfaraz Ahmed will captain Pakistan against New Zealand in place of Babar Azam, who is out with flu. On Day 3 of the current first Test, Babar Azam did not enter the field.
On Day 3 of the current first Test against New Zealand in Karachi, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam did not enter the field. The athlete had caught the illness when the cameras caught him in the changing room wearing the team’s training gear.
In Babar’s absence, Sarfaraz Ahmed, who returned to the Test team for the first time in over four years, took over as captain. In addition, at the start of the day’s play, Mohammad Rizwan came in as a substitute fielder.
There appeared to be some misunderstanding about who was calling the shots during the red-ball battle, since Rizwan was arranging the fields and chatting with the bowlers. However, per MCC Rule 24.1.2, a substitute in the match will not function as a skipper.
“A substitute shall not bowl or function as captain, but may act as wicket-keeper with the approval of the umpires,” the law states.
Things became evident when the former skipper, Sarfaraz, asked for the review in the first session, but it was Rizwan who proceeded to handle the modifications and field settings.
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Babar Azam stunning knock propels the side to beyond 400 runs
Babar batted brilliantly for 161 runs in 280 deliveries, including 15 boundaries and one maximum. The innings, together with Sarfaraz Ahmed’s 86 and Agha Salman’s century (103 runs), helped the team collect 438 runs in their first innings.
The Kiwis responded well, with Tom Latham and Devon Conway combining for 183 runs. The latter was bowled for 92 runs, while Tom hit his 13th Test century (113 runs) at Karachi. New Zealand will want to achieve a competitive first innings score and win the first Test match.
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