NEW PAKISTAN SKIPPER FACES TROPHY ACID TEST

KARACHI: New captain Sarfraz Ahmed will face his stiffest test yet when he leads unfancied Pakistan in the Champion’s Trophy — starting with a highly-charged clash against India. After qualifying by the skin of their teeth, Pakistan will need to overcome serious batting deficiencies to be competitive following their struggles in the one-day format in recent years. Pakistan’s tournament in England starts with the toughest of games against archrivals India, the defending champions, on June 4. They are looking to halt a slump that began with a first-round exit from the 2015 World Cup, prompting Shahid Afridi and skipper Misbah-ul-haq to exit the one-day scene. Test specialist Azhar Ali then led Pakistan to an embarrassing 3-0 whitewash in Bangladesh and 4-1 reverses to both England and Australia before Sarfraz was handed the reins. The wicketkeeper-batsman is credited with injecting new energy after winning three of his first four games, two against the West Indies and one against lowly Zimbabwe. But former captain Ramiz Raja believes the team lacks the skill-set needed to regularly beat top sides in modern limited-overs cricket, which tilts heavily towards batting. “They say a captain is as good as his team and this side lacks power-hitting skills,” Raja said. “Also to win he needs to find wickets with the new ball. He has to be in control of his emotions — he must have a flexible plan based on discipline to create a winning environment.” Pakistan squeezed into the tournament courtesy of their clean-sweep against minnows Zimbabwe.