Pakistan One-day International skipper Azhar Ali, who returned in the fourth and fifth One-day International game after suffering from hamstring niggle during the first game at Brisbane, has been handed a one-match ban for maintaining a slow over-rate during the fifth and final ODI in Adelaide against Australia.
The 31-year-old right-handed batsman Azhar was fined 40 percent of match fee and other team members were also fined 20 percent of their fee after Australia won the game by 57 runs to clinch the Victoria-Bitter series 4-1.
The visitors were two overs short in the allotted time during their final game of the Australia tour. On his dismal return, Azhar scored 7 and 6 in his last two outings at Sydney and Adelaide respectively.
As per laws, Match Referee Jeff Crowe has imposed the one-match suspension on Azhar, who has faced severe criticism over his defensive approach as a skipper after being reported for maintaining slow over-rate by on-field umpires Chettithody Shamshuddin, Simon Fry and third umpire Chris Gaffaney.
Pakistan is touring West Indies in April and Azhar will miss the one ODI game owing to suspension.
“In accordance with Article 2.5.1 and Appendix 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Players Support Personnel, which deals with minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount,” International Cricket Council, the world cricket body said in a statement.
With fitness being one of his issues, Azhar has also struggled with bat in limited-overs cricket to pile on more miseries for Pakistan in limited-overs competition.
In last 12 months, it was Azhar’s second slow over-rate in ODIs after he was charged 20 percent of his fee on January 31 (2016) against New Zealand in Auckland.
Sportzwiki has learnt that Azhar is likely to be replaced by the T20 skipper and wicket-keeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmad, who’s being seen as the favourite contender to lead the national side in 50-over fixtures after Pakistan received the 4-1 hammering in the recently concluded 5-match series against Australia in Australia.
During Azhar’s tenure as a skipper Pakistan slipped to number nine in ODIs which was their lowest ranking in history.
The Lahore-born Azhar has led Pakistan in 31 ODIs to win 12 matches while losing 18 games and one game saw no result.