Azhar’s PCB Role Included Designing Youth Strategy, Strengthening Pathways, and Grooming Emerging Talent
Azhar Ali resigns: PCB selector and youth development head Azhar Ali has resigned from his post due to differences. This comes after the Pakistan Shaheen team, under his supervision, reached the semi-finals of the Asia Cup Rising Stars.
Azhar Ali, the PCB's selector and head of youth development, has resigned after only 12 months in the job. Neither Azhar nor the board has issued a public announcement of the resignation. But ESPNcricinfo understands that there had been long-standing differences between the former Pakistan captain and the board, which came to a head with reports of Sarfaraz Ahmed being appointed head of the Pakistan Shaheen and Under-19 teams despite Azhar carrying similar responsibilities.
In fact, Azhar Ali is believed to have felt that Sarfaraz was appointed to a role too similar to his responsibilities. He thus felt that he should no longer continue in that position. He submitted his resignation earlier this week, which was accepted by the PCB.
Azhar has also captained Pakistan in Tests and ODIs. He was first brought into the PCB as a member of the Pakistan men's national team selection panel in October 2024. A month later, he was given the role of Head of Youth Development, which the PCB publicly announced at the time.
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The official announcement of his appointment on the PCB website stated that he was tasked with shaping the future of Pakistan cricket, which included designing and implementing a comprehensive youth cricket strategy, building a strong grassroots cricket structure and talent pathways, working closely with regional cricket associations to strengthen age-group programs, educating emerging cricketers under the PCB's Pathways program, and raising awareness about the importance of off-field development for emerging players.
The next major assignment for Pakistan's age-group team is the 2026 Under-19 World Cup, which will run from January 15 to February 6 and will be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia. Co-hosts Zimbabwe, Scotland, and England are in Pakistan's group in this competition. Pakistan has won the title twice, in 2004 and 2006.
