Test captaincy a huge honour for me, asserts Azhar Ali

Earlier, in January 2017, after a 4-1 ODI series defeat in Australia, the then captain Azhar Ali was replaced by Sarfaraz Ahmed as ODI captain. A little less than three years later, it's Sarfaraz who is being stripped from captaincy and Azhar Ali is being bestowed with the honour, this time in Tests.

The 34-year-old, with ODI captaincy experience of 31 games and one game in Tests, has expressed that it's an honour for him and an opportunity to "leave a legacy" behind in the "best format" of the game.

"There could be no greater honour. This is an opportunity for me to leave a legacy. The amount of cricket I have played for Pakistan, the next four-five years are very important for me both as a player and a captain," Azhar told ESPNCricinfo.

The newly-appointed Test captain of Pakistan is aware of the competition that's ahead of them owing to the ICC Test Championship and is ready to take up the challenge of battling it out with the best teams.

"The Test Championship is coming up, and that's like a World Cup for Test cricket. Right now, we are No.7 in the rankings, so we have a fair distance to travel. The teams we'll play in the Test Championship will almost all be higher ranked than us. So there are many challenges, but it's also a great opportunity to play fearless, exciting cricket and get the desired results," he said.