Sarfaraz retained as Pakistan captain ahead of Sri Lanka series

Sarfaraz Ahmed has been retained as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team for the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, the country's cricket board (PCB) said on Friday.

Sarfaraz took charge of Pakistan across all formats in April 2017 and led the team to the Champions Trophy victory two months later.

The decision to continue with Sarfaraz comes a week after former captain Misbah-ul-Haq was confirmed as the head coach and chief selector of the national team.

"I feel humbled and honoured to have been awarded extension to my captaincy term," Sarfaraz said in a statement.

"I have enjoyed captaining the Pakistan cricket team and look forward to improve my leadership qualities under the new set-up of Misbah-ul-Haq who also has a proven record as captain.

"I have played most of my cricket under Misbah and we know each other pretty well. I think we will make a good combination, which will contribute to improved performances of the side across all formats."

Under Sarfaraz's captaincy, Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals of this year's World Cup, which led to the PCB's decision to not renew head coach Mickey Arthur's contract.

Top order batsman Babar Azam, who has previously captained Pakistan in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in 2012, will join the leadership group as the new vice-captain after an impressive run across all formats.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan are scheduled to play three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches between Sept. 27 and Oct. 9.