'Surprised' Zaheer Abbas believes Azhar Ali will be under pressure as Pak's new ODI skipper

Pakistan's legendary batsman Zaheer Abbas is surprised by the naming of Azhar Ali as the nation's ODI captain and believes that it would put the young cricketer under pressure because he had not been part of the one-day squad for the past two years.

Abbas said that Ali had not been part of the ODI side for the past two years and now suddenly he was named ODI captain which is surprising. Like many experts and players, he added that he too was surprised by Ali's appointment as ODI captain.

Ali has replaced Misbah-ul-Haq as ODI captain after the latter announced his retirement from one-dayers following Pakistan's World Cup tour.

Abbas said that captaining Pakistan team is not an easy job particularly when one is not part of the team for such a long period, adding that Ali would not only have to lead the team but perform with the bat as well which, of course, would not be an easy task particularly in the prevailing circumstances, The Dawn reported.

The former skipper, however, wished the new ODI captain good luck with his new assignment ahead in the shape of the Bangladesh series which Abbas termed a big challenge for Ali and his team.