"Absolute madness": Aamir Sohail weighs-in on Sarfraz Ahmed captaincy dilemma

The World Cup winner with Pakistan believes giving the leadership role to an untested figure would be a major error, following the departure of Mickey Arthur

Pakistan must deter from dumping Sarfraz Ahmed as captain without a genuine replacement ready to take over, according to former skipper Aamir Sohail.

Former Mickey Arthur and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq have already made way since the World Cup when the team failed to progress to the knock-out stage.

Only net run-rate separated them from the semi-finals but that has not stopped the removal of several high-profile names.

Sarfraz has refused to step-down and will await a decision from the PCB over his future as skipper across all three formats.

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But Sohail, who won the World Cup with Pakistan in 1992 and led the side six times in Tests and in 22 one-day internationals, feels the lack of possible candidates to take over makes the prospect of getting rid of Sarfraz a major risk.

"There is a lot of debate and discussion about the suitability of Sarfraz Ahmed as captain in some or all three formats of the game," he said in his column written in conjunction with PakPassion.net and Cricket World.

"To me this is just a sad case of a knee-jerk reaction to recent disappointing performances by the Pakistan side. 

^{Mickey Arthur was dismissed after requesting a two-year extension}

"The fact is that PCB have not groomed a successor to him and so to expect Sarfaraz to be replaced for the sake of change is absolute madness. 

"What we need to do is to act in a calm manner to prepare his replacement and to look for someone to take over who has leadership material, and is not simply a good player. 

"If we don’t groom for at least a year a player who has a good grasp of the tactical aspects of the game, one who can operate well under pressure and has game awareness then we could easily end up with a dressing room with possibly six captains instead of one good leader and we cannot afford that at any cost."

Though Arthur has been sent packing, a decision over Sarfraz's future could yet be delayed with Pakistan not in action again until they face Australia in three T20s and two Tests in November and December.

Other former players are divided over whether Sarfraz should be retained, with ex-fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar adamant the wicketkeeper should be stripped on the responsibility.

Javad Miandad meanwhile wants to see Pakistan keep faith with the underfire captain as they build towards next year's World T20.