Babar Azam's ongoing rise to prominence has been further reaffirmed by his appointment as Pakistan's ODI captain, making him the country's white-ball leader. Azam replaces Sarfaraz Ahmed as the captain and caps a meteoric rise over the last year, in which he has been one of the world's leading batsmen across formats. Azhar Ali will continue to lead in Tests while Azam will be the captain in both white-ball formats.

Azam was named captain for the 2020-21 season, which begins on July 1 the PCB said, during which Pakistan are scheduled to play nine Tests, six ODIs and 20 T20Is, besides the Asia Cup and the Men's T20 World Cup.

"I want to congratulate Azhar Ali and Babar Azam for getting captaincy extensions," chief selector and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said on Wednesday when the PCB also announced the annual contracts list. "This is absolutely the right decision as they also require certainty and clarity on their future roles. I am sure they will now start looking to the future and start planning so that they can build sides that can perform at the expected levels."

More to follow...