Kamran praises Azhar's leadership skills

Wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal believes that ODI skipper Azhar Ali has put in some amazing performances for the national team saying when he got the chance, he showed everyone what he was capable of. Akmal said Azhar has put in some amazing performances for the Pakistan ODI team. "This is really commendable when you see that Azhar hardly got a chance to play in ODIs and was always considered a Test player. But when he got the chance, he showed everyone what he was capable enough as we saw in the three ODI series he has played in as a batsman and captain," Pakpassion.net quoted him as saying.
Akmal said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has to be congratulated for their bold decision to make Azhar, captain of the ODI team. "As far as players are concerned, their job is to support and help Azhar do his job. Criticism and doubt about his abilities is the work of ex-players and media and they should be left to their devices," he said.
Akmal said the players just need to deliver without caring about who is captain or other such matters. "The only way the captain and the team will be successful is when the players will concentrate on their roles and not indulge in any sort of politics which undermines the authority of the captain," he said. Speaking about not playing Sarfraz Ahmed in the recently concluded T20 series against Sri Lanka, Akmal said we need to have full faith in the captain and his judgement as he is the one who decides on the right combination for the team for any game.
"It is also possible that the captain and coach decided to give Sarfraz a break after taking into account the hot and humid weather in Sri Lanka as Sarfraz had played non-stop in three Test matches and five ODIs prior to the T20I series," he said. Talking about his return to the national team, Akmal said, "I do not want to say anything on this issue as this is something for selectors to think about but the fact is that I have been performing in domestic cricket." "The way I look at this is that my job is to perform well and it is the job of the selectors to select the best players in the country," he said.