{
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    "title": "Azhar Ali to lead Pakistan in Tests, Babar Azam named captain for ODIs & T20Is",
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    "series": "1",
    "cup_year": "2020",
    "article_type": "General",
    "excerpt": "Lahore, May 13:\u00a0\u00a0Azhar Ali has been retained as Pakistan Test skipper while Babar Azam has been appointed to lead the national team in both ODIs and T20 internationals in the 2020-21 season. Pakista",
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    "editor1": "<p><strong>Lahore, May 13:&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;Azhar Ali has been retained as Pakistan Test skipper while Babar Azam has been appointed to lead the national team in both ODIs and T20 internationals in the 2020-21 season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made the announcement while disclosing the list of centrally contracted players on Wednesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Babar replaces wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed at the helm which was expected after the latter was axed from the team across formats following his poor form with the bat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Azhar so far has witnessed a mixed bag of results in his short captaincy career, which includes a 0-2 loss in Australia, followed by a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka at home and a comprehensive victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Rawalpindi before the series was called off because of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;I want to congratulate Azhar Ali and Babar Azam for getting captaincy extensions. This is absolutely the right decision as they also require certainty and clarity on their future roles,&quot; chief selector and Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said as per a PCB media release.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;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,&quot; he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Pakistan are scheduled to play two T20Is in Ireland in July and after that they are slated to travel to England to play three Tests and as many T20Is.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>However, a decision on the England tour will be made by mid-June amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, PCB chief executive Wasim Khan has said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The officials of both the PCB and England and Wales Cricket Board will be having an online meeting on Friday.<\/p>\r\n",
    "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Babar-Azam3.jpg",
    "alt_img": "Babar Azam",
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    "seo_title": "Azhar Ali to lead Pakistan in Tests, Babar Azam named captain for ODIs & T20Is On Cricketnmore",
    "seo_desc": "Lahore, May 13:\u00a0\u00a0Azhar Ali has been retained as Pakistan Test skipper while Babar Azam has been appointed to lead the national team in both ODIs and T20 internationals in the 2020-21 season. Pakista",
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    "created": "2020-05-13 17:06:23",
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