Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has said Azhar Ali is being considered as the opener during the tours of England and Ireland.

“We have just announced the players for the skills camp,” said Sarfraz. “We will try to send Azhar as the opener. He is somebody who has opened in England before and is an experienced player who has been the backbone of the Test side with his performances for the last four-five years. We will most likely experiment with Azhar as an opener.”

“We will be looking to take at least three possible opening combinations with us so that means we will have three openers,” he said. “There is Shan, Sami and Fakhar has just been inducted into the squad. We will be consulting to see who we take with us.”

The 30-year-old touched upon the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground, which is set to host the first Test of the series May 24.

The wicketkeeper batsman started laughing when asked about the criticism he has faced regarding his overly critical approach towards the players.

“Every player and captain wants to win. I get angry when I see the players deviating from our plan or when they aren’t putting in enough effort. Our players are very good and I want them to keep on performing at this level,” Sarfraz said.

He also revealed that he is trying to keep his emotions in check better. “I am learning on the job and will hopefully get better with time,” he said. “I am trying to keep myself calm on the field and be more in control of my emotions.”