However the final decision to shift the tournament will be Asian Cricket Council's prerogative.
Australian great Glenn McGrath says the handling of the 'homework gate' saga during the team's tour of India earlier this year was "pretty poor" and felt it "all blew up" in the middle of the 0-4 Test series drubbing.
Sarfaraz said that he was under no pressure as captain before the mega-event.
Australia are shelving their controversial rotation policy for back-to-back Ashes campaigns that are in danger of falling into complete disarray barely two weeks prior to the opening test against England.
Pakistan came out buzzing on Sunday as they kept alive their Cricket World Cup hopes with a morale-boosting 49-run win over South Africa.
Captain Sarfraz Ahmed, on Saturday lauded the youngsters of his side and said they played an integral part in helping Pakistan reach the final of the ICC Champions Trophy, despite a crushing defeat in the opener against India.
The first Test between New Zealand and Pakistan is scheduled to go head this week after engineers checked the safety of the Christchurch cricket venue following a massive earthquake that rattled the centre of the country early on Monday. The powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake pummelled central New Zealand's South Island, killing at least two people, damaging roads and buildings and setting off hundreds of strong aftershocks. It was felt strongly in Christchurch, South Island's largest city, which was hit by a 6.3 quake in 2011 that killed 185 people.
"It has been an honour to represent Pakistan in the pinnacle and traditional format of the game. I, however, have decided to move away from the longer version so I can concentrate on white ball cricket."
While ODI captain Aaron Finch said the team backed Justin Langer "100%", reports of players being put off by the coach's "grumpy" temperament have continued to surface.
Pakistan will be eager to raise their game.
Pakistan hosts its first Tests on home soil since the 2009 militant attack on Sri Lanka's team bus in Lahore.
Convicted spot-fixer Muhammad Aamir was selected in the Pakistan cricket team that will tour England for a four-Test series for the first time since the spot-fixing scandal broke in 2010. However the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is still awaiting for Aamir's visa approval from the UK High Commission. 24-year-old Aamir has made an impressive comeback in shorter formats and ironically his probable return to Test cricket will happen in the same country where he was arrested for indulging in spot-fixing along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif. Chairman of selectors Inzamam ul Haq said that the board had given clearance to pick Aamir in the side as they had been told his visa would arrive on Monday.
Team India will have to choose between experimenting and continuing the winning combination
Azhar Ali to lead the Test side, Babar Azam to lead T20s
Lehmann accepted ultimate responsibility for the culture of the team.
Pakistan senior batsman Azhar Ali, on Thursday stepped down as the One-day International captain after a meeting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan in Dubai.
An insatiable David Warner blasted a career-best 179 and dominated Australia's highest ever one-day partnership with fellow centurion Travis Head to help secure their 57-run victory in the fifth and final match against Pakistan on Thursday.
Down with a recurrent back injury, Australia's regular skipper Michael Clarke said the actions of David Warner and other teammates in Birmingham had an "impact on his leadership".
PCB CEO Wasim Khan told the media that he and Chairman Ehsan Mani would be meeting with Misbah very soon to discuss his performance.
The former Pakistan captain said he is aware that expectations would be high but he is confident he can work well with some of the most talented and exciting cricketers in the country.
Going from a defeat to playing the old rivalry against India isn't going to be easy for Pakistan, says former captain Waqar Younis.
Pak seniors don't retire on time, compromise team's fitness and form, says Waqar.
Jonathan Trott followed Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior into the international wilderness on Monday to leave England desperately short of experience ahead of this year's Ashes series against Australia.
Joe Burns is determined to avoid membership of the burgeoning club of Australian batsmen who have made brief cameos.
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has insisted that veteran cricketers Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan have earned the right to decide when they want to draw curtains on their international careers. Both the batsmen, who underwent a stern examination by Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird, were dismissed in the space of five overs on a rain-shortened opening day of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, leaving visitors on 142-4 when play was finally called off before Tea.
Will India go into the 3rd T20I vs Sri Lanka with the same squad or will Sanju Samson and Manish Pandey get a look in?
The 25-year-old middle-order batsman's fine form means he is almost a certainty to be part of the squad that heads to India in February for four Tests, a series that will test his reputation for being able to play spin.
In a televised interview, the former Australian captain also spoke of his dressing room bust-up with Simon Katich among other controversial topics
There was general consensus in Australia on Wednesday that retaining the Ashes this year got a little bit harder after the appointment of wily compatriot Trevor Bayliss as England's new head coach.
Netherlands' Kingma gets four-match suspension for ball-tampering.
England captain Eoin Morgan indicated that they will replace out-of-form opener Jason Roy with Jonny Bairstow.
Misbah said with time he understood that it would be possible to give his best only to one role.
The injuries and form aside, it was that famous fall-out with then captain Michael Clarke and coach Mickey Arthur that brought ignominy unto Watson.
Pakistan's Test stalwart Younis Khan, who led the national team to its only World T20 title in 2009, remained unsold while captain Misbah-ul Haq was snapped up by the Islamabad franchise on the first day of the Players' Draft for the Pakistan Super League, on Monday.
The Old Trafford cricket ground had a festive feel with fans from both sides wearing replica jerseys, colourful headgear and sounding hooters as they began trooping in.
Encouraged by the positive feedback during the last domestic season, the BCCI will continue with neutral curators in the upcoming 2018-19 Ranji Trophy, a move that also scuttled the home state associations' habit of preparing pitches as per their wishes.
A mis-firing Australia head into the second Test against South Africa in Hobart under pressure to save the series and avert a full-blown crisis which would almost certainly be triggered by a fifth consecutive Test defeat.
Justin Langer was the foundation rock upon which Australia erected towering piles of runs during a golden era of success.
The Pakistan Cricket Board is planning to hold the remaining matches of PSL-5 in November provided the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic improves in the next few months, PCB CEO Wasim Khan said. The PSL was suspended last Tuesday after the PCB revealed that a foreign player showed symptoms of the coronavirus, but Khan said the remaining matches may be held during the 10-day window available in November.
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