Is Sarfaraz Ahmed doing enough to keep his place in Test side?

[JibranAnsari]

In the last three years he has averaged 31 in test cricket with 9 50s.

View attachment 85781

He is averaging 25 this year , nobody is even thinking about replacing him given his supposed captaincy skill. In test cricket his captaincy has been rathar mediocre and sometimes is left with no ideas at all. To his shame 2-0 loss against a very weak srilankan team in UAE. He is not doing any wonders with the bat , should he be able to keep his place in the side if he fails further with the bat in the series?

 

[aukhan]

He doesn't merit his place in the side as a player. If you look at his performances in all formats since he became captain then you will see he has been the weakest link in our side. His brainless antics and attitude towards his teammates is another thing that makes your blood boil.

SA Test series should be his last as captain.

 

[Sarwar89]

Sarfaraz has been slightly unlucky as a Test Captain as well.

Where little margins of luck have gone his way in Limited Overs cricket (for instance Drop catch v Sri lanka in icc champions trophy or Kohli's drop by Azhar not costing the team at all) same has not happened in Test Arena.

1) Misbah's team collapsed in Dubai 2nd Innings v England in 2015, despite scoring 500 in 1st Innings but somehow bad light saved his day and team survived.
2) Misbah's team somehow defended 147 in 2nd Test v England in 2012. That was a turning point.
3) Misbah's team collapsed for 124 in 2nd Innings in day/night test v West indies but by that time target was already 343.

So Misbah always got away with it, once his team collapsed for 99 all out in Test v England but still won.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Safaraz.
1) Sliding doors, what if his team could have chased down 136 against sri lanka in 2017.
2) What if Azhar ali had hot 4 runs and tied the test or won the test yestersay.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having said that Sarfaraz still played brilliant 94 IN 2ND TEST SERIES decider v Australia. Due to that innings Pak did win the Series.
Sarfaraz won 1-0 away in Ireland and drew 1-1 in England and won 1-0 at home to Australia this year.
If he manages to win last 2 tests against New zealand then Pakistan will be the only unbeaten Team in Test series for the year 2018.
think ?

 

[gazza619]

I dont think Sarfaraz was the reason why we lost some of the recent games. Poor batting was the main culprit and the blame mainly goes to top 6 batsmen

 

[PakPremi]

Two sensible posts from Gazza and Sarwar.
Do we have anyone better as wicket keeper bat in Pak ? Rizwan is a joke of batsman.
You know things are bad in batting department when you are discussing wicket keeper's batting performance who bats at 7.

 

[Xoib]

Pakistan batting post MisYou was expected to struggle so it should not be a surprise that results have been poor

 

[Amjid Javed]

Pathetic batsmen and captain, got a few runs against a weak Australian side so saved his place in the side.

In 1st inns of this test his pathetic sweep shot meant we lost chance of a big 1st inns lead and his pathetic sweep shot in 2nd inns was one of reasons we failed in run chase.

The fact someone played 2 brainless shots in same match should mean he gets the boot.

All this talk about is there anyone better to replace him is nonsense, cant condone his rubbish shots just because we dont think hes drop-able due to so called replacements.

The fact hes been a passenger in side for so long recently has effected team results.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Two sensible posts from Gazza and Sarwar.
Do we have anyone better as wicket keeper bat in Pak ? Rizwan is a joke of batsman.
You know things are bad in batting department when you are discussing wicket keeper's batting performance who bats at 7.

Bj watling , tim paine , mushfiqur rahim , johnny bairstow say hi , wicket keeper is a specialist batting position these days. Gone are the days of nayan mongia , rashid latif , tatenda taibu and moin khan. You gotta be a good batsman even as a wicketkeeper to hold on to your place

 

[Amjid Javed]

Sarfraz is just as bad a captain as Moin khan and thats really showing how bad he is.

 

[Ahmed216]

Non-performing captain can never be good for any side.

Only way for him to possibly prolong his test career is by resigning from captaincy

 

[Amjid Javed]

I dont think Sarfaraz was the reason why we lost some of the recent games. Poor batting was the main culprit and the blame mainly goes to top 6 batsmen

Poor batting? So the shots he played in both inns was not poor batting as well?

 

[Markhor]

No ! If he was not the captain he'd be dropped by now.

He has failed to show responsible leadership with the bat in two tight Test runchases in 12 months now. One would have thought lessons would be learnt from last year vs SRL.

The problem is the seniors Hafeez, Azhar (don't be fooled by the fifty, he failed to finish the job), Shafiq and Sarfraz are passing the buck, none of them wants to take charge as senior players in an inexperienced Test lineup the absence of Younis and Misbah. We needed calm, cool heads from them as you'd expect from experienced players yet they panicked like kids on debut.

 

[PakPremi]

Bj watling , tim paine , mushfiqur rahim , johnny bairstow say hi , wicket keeper is a specialist batting position these days. Gone are the days of nayan mongia , rashid latif , tatenda taibu and moin khan. You gotta be a good batsman even as a wicketkeeper to hold on to your place

So do we have any ?

Apart from Bairstow and recent purple patch from Mushi none others have set fire to stage with their performances. Sarfraz when he was not captain was better in test performances. There needs to be a debate whether Sarfraz should give up captaincy one or two formats but to ask for his removable from the test team is laughable especially when we have no Bairstow or Dhoni waiting in wings.

 

[MMHS]

As Captain, in 3 formats, these are Sarfraz's numbers with bat (In bracket as Not Captain)

- Test (8/36): 27/62 (41/73)
- ODI (32/66): 28/81 (35/88)
- T20 (33/21): 28/135 (29/120)

There are few factors like which opponent, where..etc., but without going into details, still the figures are self explanatory and indicative enough.

He has kept his performance at per in T20, and no wonder team is flourishing under him - that proves one more universal fact: in cricket, you need your Captain to perform individually. I put it this way - work load in T20 hasn't affected his individual performance. While his rowdy Captaincy style suits only the instant form of cricket, where you need more instant action & quick execution than thinking and planning for the big picture.

The numbers are actually quite significant in sample size and I'll again say that appointing an unfit, over aged, mediocre cricketer in his core role as Captain was a blunder by PCB, for which team is suffering and Sarfraz himself is at the receiving end (otherwise he is a better Captain than Azhar or possibly Asad, definitely better than Misbah in LOs).

I wish, he realizes this and steps down from Test Captaincy, preferably from ODI as well (PCB is not likely to sack him before WC), which should keep him in charge till 2020 WC - otherwise I see all of a sudden, a very unceremonious exit for him from every format, which he probably doesn't deserve.

 

[Amjid Javed]

So do we have any ?

Apart from Bairstow and recent purple patch from Mushi none others have set fire to stage with their performances. Sarfraz when he was not captain was better in test performances. There needs to be a debate whether Sarfraz should give up captaincy one or two formats but to ask for his removable from the test team is laughable especially when we have no Bairstow or Dhoni waiting in wings.

Well sarfraz probably put more effort in ace when he wasnt an autopick. Csptaincy clearly has made him complacent.

Secondly so we shouldnt drop him because we have no so called replacements? This stupid reasoning is why such players have become complacent.

 

[PakPremi]

Well sarfraz probably put more effort in ace when he wasnt an autopick. Csptaincy clearly has made him complacent.

Secondly so we shouldnt drop him because we have no so called replacements? This stupid reasoning is why such players have become complacent.

Why would u replace a decent wickwtkweper batsman with a worse one? Which wicketkeeper from Pak performed consistently?
As I said need to look at the reasoning why he is not performing anymore and that is he is doing too many things captaining 3 formats and wickwtkweper and then required to stop collapses from our fragile batting line up. He should give up Test captaincy .

 

[Hasan123]

He's an associate level player. That's the honest truth. 1 purple patch fooled us all.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

He's an associate level player. That's the honest truth. 1 purple patch fooled us all.

One purple patch doesn't make a batsman have decent to good career averages across all formats, especially when he has not been a minnow basher

 

[Arsalan Pro]

He has performed overseas as well

Tests: Australia
ODIs: England
T20Is: New Zealand

 

[Hasan123]

One purple patch doesn't make a batsman have decent to good career averages across all formats, especially when he has not been a minnow basher

Can't play a hook shot or drive against pace. Can only sweep spinners even struggled against Patel in the first test.

Don't rate him as a player.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Lets have a look at sarfrazs dismissals im the two losses vs SL (2nd inns) and the 2nd inns against NZ.

1st test vs SL - get stumped playing a high risk shot against herath when he was doing well working ball around before.

2nd test vs SL - plays high risk sweep shot when bowlers been getting turn and drift off the wicket.

1st test vs NZ - plays a sweep when hes not even set at crease again high risk show

All 3 occassions nothing but brainless cricket, as hes trying to be over aggresive in a stupid manner.

At end of it he says oh the sweep gets me runs and sometimes i get out, no accountability for his reckless.

Passenger in the side and needs to go, no one needs a captain who chokes.

 

[wrongun]

Bj watling , tim paine , mushfiqur rahim , johnny bairstow say hi , wicket keeper is a specialist batting position these days. Gone are the days of nayan mongia , rashid latif , tatenda taibu and moin khan. You gotta be a good batsman even as a wicketkeeper to hold on to your place

Not quite. Tim Paine was selected as a smooth gloveman and good personal character. He's a poor to mediocre batsman with a single (1) FC century to his name in his entire 10 year career.

 

[yasir]

Can't play a hook shot or drive against pace. Can only sweep spinners even struggled against Patel in the first test.

Don't rate him as a player.

All our seniors have stale growth:

1. Sarfarz has only one shot(sweep), that does not work against seam heavy attack, that's why his runs go down dramatically in West. He has not develop any other shots.

2. Azhar is just a blocker, his only place is opener. He has not developed any shots, he will only play pull or cut, after 200+ delivers and probably last 10 overs of the day. Can you believe we lost the test after Azhar's double hundred in MCG, he took too dame long and we collapse on last day...

3. How many times Shafiq has gotten out on new ball? - How many times poke on harmless deliveries that has shift momentum. After 50 tests, he got opportunity to seal #4, but he could not bat reliably...

4. Hafeez, the less with talk about Mighty professor better it is. What is the point of him as opener, when you know, even Abbas can bat better than him in anything mildly green?? - MGMT is trying to push him for SA, we are going there by MAN down, actually two (Sarfraz and Hafeez). How in the world you can win tests with 4 batters

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Sarfaraz has been slightly unlucky as a Test Captain as well.

Where little margins of luck have gone his way in Limited Overs cricket (for instance Drop catch v Sri lanka in icc champions trophy or Kohli's drop by Azhar not costing the team at all) same has not happened in Test Arena.

1) Misbah's team collapsed in Dubai 2nd Innings v England in 2015, despite scoring 500 in 1st Innings but somehow bad light saved his day and team survived.
2) Misbah's team somehow defended 147 in 2nd Test v England in 2012. That was a turning point.
3) Misbah's team collapsed for 124 in 2nd Innings in day/night test v West indies but by that time target was already 343.

So Misbah always got away with it, once his team collapsed for 99 all out in Test v England but still won.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Safaraz.
1) Sliding doors, what if his team could have chased down 136 against sri lanka in 2017.
2) What if Azhar ali had hot 4 runs and tied the test or won the test yestersay.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having said that Sarfaraz still played brilliant 94 IN 2ND TEST SERIES decider v Australia. Due to that innings Pak did win the Series.
Sarfaraz won 1-0 away in Ireland and drew 1-1 in England and won 1-0 at home to Australia this year.
If he manages to win last 2 tests against New zealand then Pakistan will be the only unbeaten Team in Test series for the year 2018.
think ?

One of the main differences is that Misbah took responsibility from day 1. Look at his first Test as captain, he gritted out a gutsy half century on the fifth day to lead to a draw against Steyn and co. Misbah always stood firm as a batter, and everytime he did, we did well. Whenever he failed, SA 2013 and Aus 2017 for example, we surrendered meekly. Sarfraz hasn't led by example, he hardly puts a price on his wicket, his batting is reckless, he doesn't adapt, just plays the same way in every situation even when the situation demands adaptability. He needs to lead by example, things will start falling into place.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I dont think Sarfaraz was the reason why we lost some of the recent games. Poor batting was the main culprit and the blame mainly goes to top 6 batsmen

If Sarfraz had only scored 10 runs in the entire match, we would have won. Just think about that. I honestly believe 10 runs from a no 7 isn't a big ask in 2 innings. Others apart from Hafeez got starts atleast. Haris gave his wicket away both times. Babar looked good in the first inning, Asad did too, Azhar started to look comfortable in the 4th inning. Imam gave us a good start in the chase. Sarfraz and Hafeez did absolutely nothing. Others need to convert their starts into substantial knocks, Azhar and Shafiq should take more responsibility. Haris and Babar are growing i guess. Imam is new.

 

[Sarwar89]

One of the main differences is that Misbah took responsibility from day 1. Look at his first Test as captain, he gritted out a gutsy half century on the fifth day to lead to a draw against Steyn and co. Misbah always stood firm as a batter, and everytime he did, we did well. Whenever he failed, SA 2013 and Aus 2017 for example, we surrendered meekly. Sarfraz hasn't led by example, he hardly puts a price on his wicket, his batting is reckless, he doesn't adapt, just plays the same way in every situation even when the situation demands adaptability. He needs to lead by example, things will start falling into place.

Captains like Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Ramees Raja, Moin Khan, Aamer sohail, Inzamam
All have badly Lost Test Series on home soil. Ppl have very small memories.

Do you know that pakistan lost home test series against sri lanka, south africa, zimbabwe yes yes zimbabwe england australia india all at home between 1995-2004.

Give Sarfaraz some space. His 94 in 2nd Test v Australia won you the Test series last month.

Wonderful legends on pakistan failed to chase 147 v south africa in faisalabad 1997.

 

[Hawkeye]

[MENTION=144231]PakPremi[/MENTION] woah you're such a Sarfraz defender and fan.

Rizwan is bad but even he is better than Sarfraz, both as a keeper and batsman.

He's an improvement. Or as bad as him. By including him the advantage is we can drop Sarfraz.

And appoint a proper leader who makes the team on merit first of all. Sarfraz is a clown, not a leader.

 

[Tabishbeigh]

The fact is there is no replacement for Sarfaraz. Last I saw Rizwan he couldn't bat to save his life. Unless you have Sachin's Kohli's and Bradmans in your team you will always have to compromise on your wicketkeeper, that is to say if you don't have dhoni or Gilly in your ranks . Besides you don't have a replacement as your captain. The most frustrating thing about this squad is Haris Sohail, he is immensely talented but he is possessed by the same disease as UA. He gets you a beautiful 30-40 and then gets out , that's a sin . Papa Shafiq is over . I mean even if you bat at 7 as a proper batsman after 64 tests you don't average 40 now that's a problem. I'm sure he can be easily replaced. Sarfaraz needs a doctor to council him .They need to hire a psychiatrist ,I believe they did sometime back and it reaped good rewards. But then does anyone listen .

 

[PakPremi]

[MENTION=144231]PakPremi[/MENTION] woah you're such a Sarfraz defender and fan.

Rizwan is bad but even he is better than Sarfraz, both as a keeper and batsman.

He's an improvement. Or as bad as him. By including him the advantage is we can drop Sarfraz.

And appoint a proper leader who makes the team on merit first of all. Sarfraz is a clown, not a leader.

I think you should see from my posts that I am not a particular fan of any one. I have no reason to support him as I am from A.K., so no bias. I just support Pakistan. I do not want players to be thrown under the bus when they are not winning. What makes me laugh when PAK when something its called fluke, or a format that does not matter. When they win a format that matters to the same fans like you like our thrashing of Australia and New Zealand in ODI, then you lot find something else to bash. Amount of wrist slit the regular D & G fans have done and still come back alive to post astonishes me. How about riding the tide and backing the team you lot pretend to support. Pak has no world class batsmen and many players are slowly being inducted into test teams like Sami, Khuram, Imam, Haris, Bilal, Usman but they are not proving to be any better in performance than the ones playing. The only undeserving senior player in tests is Hafeez, as he never was a proper batsman and has proved his inconsistency throughout his career, even when in good form. Changing captain has nothing to do with replacing Sarfraz, the wicket keeper and no 7 batsman. If he loses this series he should be replaced as a Test Captain, but please spare me the comparisons with Watling, Pants of other test teams. Sarfraz has already performed better than those players in many matches for Pak. Pak can make one or two changes to the squad but on recent performances and listening to D&G fans we should change 9 to 10 players (even likes of Yasir, Hasan, Imam, Shafiq, Azhar have been flagged to be thrown out with immediately).

 

[last_knight]

MoHa is Captain of LQs. This should ring some alarm bells for Sarfaraz.
NT is, after all, well protected. [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION]

 

[topspin]

Sarfraz is averaging 25 in both ODIs and Tests in 2018 thus far. Since his purple patch beginning in the 2014 and it has regressed so much he's clearly in decline.

Also ever since he won CT, his work ethic and attention to fitness + keeping in shape has diminished because it has got to his head.

Rizwan is in good form and kept very well during the ODI series in Aus (around 18 months ago). It is time he gets his chance. Yes he may struggle initially but unlike Sarfraz he is driven and works hard on his game. His fitness is excellent as well.

Yes he may struggle making the transition initially but he is 26 and therefore a long term investment in cricketing horizons. Sarfraz is 31 on paper but has the looks and physical capability of more like a 41 year old.

This won't happen anytime soon because of the toxic seniority culture that takes the heart of all Pakistan cricketing decisions.

 

[MMHS]

MoHa is Captain of LQs. This should ring some alarm bells for Sarfaraz.
NT is, after all, well protected. [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION]

I put it other way - if PAK is to take a specialist Captain in WC, it's better be MoHa. Can slog from 5-6, can bowl a bit, still much fitter than most 35+ PAK players and he knows the art of Captaincy, bowling changes and filed placings - can't do worse than this.

 

[last_knight]

I put it other way - if PAK is to take a specialist Captain in WC, it's better be MoHa. Can slog from 5-6, can bowl a bit, still much fitter than most 35+ PAK players and he knows the art of Captaincy, bowling changes and filed placings - can't do worse than this.

Actually this may happen if in March '19 somehow LQs finish in top 2 and QGs fail to do so. I can't stop entertaining the idea of KK winning PSL4 under Imad Wasim.

CS is known to even pick test sides based on T20 performances, let alone ODI squads.

 

[Hasan123]

All our seniors have stale growth:

1. Sarfarz has only one shot(sweep), that does not work against seam heavy attack, that's why his runs go down dramatically in West. He has not develop any other shots.

2. Azhar is just a blocker, his only place is opener. He has not developed any shots, he will only play pull or cut, after 200+ delivers and probably last 10 overs of the day. Can you believe we lost the test after Azhar's double hundred in MCG, he took too dame long and we collapse on last day...

3. How many times Shafiq has gotten out on new ball? - How many times poke on harmless deliveries that has shift momentum. After 50 tests, he got opportunity to seal #4, but he could not bat reliably...

4. Hafeez, the less with talk about Mighty professor better it is. What is the point of him as opener, when you know, even Abbas can bat better than him in anything mildly green?? - MGMT is trying to push him for SA, we are going there by MAN down, actually two (Sarfraz and Hafeez). How in the world you can win tests with 4 batters

Well said. I agree with all of your points here.

 

[Hawkeye]

[MENTION=143023]SarfiBabarHaris[/MENTION] hasn't been seen after the Sarfraz-led loss.

Wondering if sense will prevail and he'll finally realize how big of a burden Sarfraz is on the Test team.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

[MENTION=143023]SarfiBabarHaris[/MENTION] hasn't been seen after the Sarfraz-led loss.

Wondering if sense will prevail and he'll finally realize how big of a burden Sarfraz is on the Test team.

Bro i have commented on several threads and in the who is culprit thread, i said Sarfraz for his pathetic shot. Please dont run your mouth without knowing things.

I will never understand why these forums are a medium of point scoring for you guys. I never tagged or quoted you guys when Sarfraz won the match with 94 and 81. May be you guys are doing bhangra and feeling victorious on Pakistan's loss but I come here to have discussions and have a good time pass. Hope next time you do your research before running your mouth.

Regards.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Captains like Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Ramees Raja, Moin Khan, Aamer sohail, Inzamam
All have badly Lost Test Series on home soil. Ppl have very small memories.

Do you know that pakistan lost home test series against sri lanka, south africa, zimbabwe yes yes zimbabwe england australia india all at home between 1995-2004.

Give Sarfaraz some space. His 94 in 2nd Test v Australia won you the Test series last month.

Wonderful legends on pakistan failed to chase 147 v south africa in faisalabad 1997.

You do realize what was going around in our team around that time. Saleem Malik wasn't banned for no reason. So that team doesn't deserve much sympathy.
Plus of the captains you listed, only Wasim Akram and Inzamam are the ones who found any success as captains. Saeed Anwar, Ramiz Raja, Moin and Amir Sohail were the part of a musical chair.

You shouldn't be using the excuse that our past teams have lost so it's okay for us to lose as well. The fact remains that Sarfraz fails to take responsibility most of the times. He has only one way of playing and to play at international level, you need to adapt, not least when you're the captain. If you fail, it won't inspire much confidence among your teammates. Good performance in one test doesn't absolve one of poor performance in 5 others. You need to stand up and take responsibility. International cricket is a cruel place, if you're not good enough, you can't stay there.

 

[Sarwar89]

You do realize what was going around in our team around that time. Saleem Malik wasn't banned for no reason. So that team doesn't deserve much sympathy.
Plus of the captains you listed, only Wasim Akram and Inzamam are the ones who found any success as captains. Saeed Anwar, Ramiz Raja, Moin and Amir Sohail were the part of a musical chair.

You shouldn't be using the excuse that our past teams have lost so it's okay for us to lose as well. The fact remains that Sarfraz fails to take responsibility most of the times. He has only one way of playing and to play at international level, you need to adapt, not least when you're the captain. If you fail, it won't inspire much confidence among your teammates. Good performance in one test doesn't absolve one of poor performance in 5 others. You need to stand up and take responsibility. International cricket is a cruel place, if you're not good enough, you can't stay there.

We will continue our discussion on this topic at the end of the series mate. I do think Sarfaraz is very close to becoming the first Asian captain to win Test series in South africa
And let me tell you he will beat Kiwiz 2-1 in test series as well. Give him some time. Mistakes r committed by all captains its okay. Pak has not lost series yet.

 

[MMHS]

We will continue our discussion on this topic at the end of the series mate. I do think Sarfaraz is very close to becoming the first Asian captain to win Test series in South africa
And let me tell you he will beat Kiwiz 2-1 in test series as well. Give him some time. Mistakes r committed by all captains its okay. Pak has not lost series yet.

My best wishes for him & PAK team - for this series & in SAF as well. I also do believe PAK should win this series 2-1, and should fight in SAF.

BUT, in either case, there won't be much contribution from Captain unfortunately. In fact, he might score some runs, if PAK bats first; but don't expect much "Tactical brilliance" for the man who can't concentrate for more than couple of overs at a time. I have seen enough cricket in last 2 months - guy is decent for T20 because it doesn't stress his patience much; horrible in ODI and below average in Test.

And, coming to individual performance, as a Captain - he is outside 10 by 10. That's including AFG & IRL, out of 12 teams, he is not among top 10 WKs with gloves (I can give you names - he is better WK than Shehzad, and probably at per with Mushi - other 10 including Poterfield are Paine, Watling, Dickwella, Pant/Saha, Kok, Dorwich, Talylor/Chakva, Foakes); and not among top 10 batsmen among WKs (even Shahzad is better in LOs, other 9 are Buttler, Kok, Mushi, MSD, Latham, Carey, Hope, B Taylor & Dickwella).

If this is what PAK's best to offer, then PAK's Test/ODI ranking position is inflated, have to say - you may disagree, but I won't argue.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

We will continue our discussion on this topic at the end of the series mate. I do think Sarfaraz is very close to becoming the first Asian captain to win Test series in South africa
And let me tell you he will beat Kiwiz 2-1 in test series as well. Give him some time. Mistakes r committed by all captains its okay. Pak has not lost series yet.

I would be more than happy if Sarfraz proves me wrong, because all I want is Pakistan to win and do well.
But I would still say that he needs to take responsibility with the bat and put a price on his wicket. I certainly do hope that he learns from this defeat as should the other guys.

 

[Ab Fan]

I don't think he is a good enough batsmen to keep his place in the side. The only reason he is there is because he is the captain of the team and also I am not sure if Pak has other options as well.

While Pak might win/draw this series, people are in delusion that this team can win a test series in SA. No it is not happening. The bowling attack of Steyn, Philander, Ngidi and Steyn is as deadly as it gets in SA conditions. You just look at Philander and the number of times he has run through sides at home, it is just phenomenal.

SA middle order batting is weak but Elgar and Markram are solid openers and I think a couple of middle order including de Kock will show up and turn things around with the batting.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

My best wishes for him & PAK team - for this series & in SAF as well. I also do believe PAK should win this series 2-1, and should fight in SAF.

BUT, in either case, there won't be much contribution from Captain unfortunately. In fact, he might score some runs, if PAK bats first; but don't expect much "Tactical brilliance" for the man who can't concentrate for more than couple of overs at a time. I have seen enough cricket in last 2 months - guy is decent for T20 because it doesn't stress his patience much; horrible in ODI and below average in Test.

And, coming to individual performance, as a Captain - he is outside 10 by 10. That's including AFG & IRL, out of 12 teams, he is not among top 10 WKs with gloves (I can give you names - he is better WK than Shehzad, and probably at per with Mushi - other 10 including Poterfield are Paine, Watling, Dickwella, Pant/Saha, Kok, Dorwich, Talylor/Chakva, Foakes); and not among top 10 batsmen among WKs (even Shahzad is better in LOs, other 9 are Buttler, Kok, Mushi, MSD, Latham, Carey, Hope, B Taylor & Dickwella).

If this is what PAK's best to offer, then PAK's Test/ODI ranking position is inflated, have to say - you may disagree, but I won't argue.

Porterfield isn't Ireland's WK, Niall O Brien and Gary Wilson are.

 

[JibranAnsari]

The only question , is he performing?

Ofcourse he isnt, his replacement may perform or may not but for that to happen his replace must first get a run.

 

[PakPremi]

The only question , is he performing?

Ofcourse he isnt, his replacement may perform or may not but for that to happen his replace must first get a run.

Go and watch again the test series versus Australia. It was not many moons ago. So answer to your question is Yes as a batsman, wicketkeeper and captain he did perform. The fact that he is not consistent -here I agree with you but none of our full time batsmen are, and no wicketkeeper batsman in near future from Pak will be. So I suggest everyone should quit whinning and support the team. Not long ago Sarfraz was being inhaled as "Oxygen" of the team and now people want to exhale him fromthe team as Carbon dioxide for Dhonis and Davids waiting.

 

[hadi123]

I dont think Sarfaraz was the reason why we lost some of the recent games. Poor batting was the main culprit and the blame mainly goes to top 6 batsmen

Why does blame not go to Sarfaraz then? He is a batsman too, he's not a specialist captain

 

[PakPremi]

Why does blame not go to Sarfraz then? He is a batsman too, he's not a specialist captain

Specialist Keeper and lower order Test Batsman.

 

[barah_admi]

His keeping is too inconsistent (Rizwan is a better keeper) and his batting just is not good enough.

 

[MMHS]

Porterfield isn't Ireland's WK, Niall O Brien and Gary Wilson are.

My bad, thanks. O Brien is a fantastic glovesman even in his mid 30s, probably among best pure gloves man in world.

 

[moghul]

Whats the purpose of playing Rizwan in team A matches against NZL and ENglant lions , if after his outstanding run of performance will not make him eligible to replace struggling ( for long ) Sarfraz.

 

[hadi123]

Specialist Keeper and lower order Test Batsman.

He is still expected to score runs.

 

[PakPremi]

He is still expected to score runs.

He did against Australia did he not ?
He is averaging 37 5 for a reason, that is mighty good for a lower order batsman. And btw it's similar to Mushi whose praise everyone is singing but also at better strike rate.

 

[gazza619]

He had looked in better touch wth bat and gloves as compared to a few months ago. Still a lot needs to be desired as he is the captain and should lead from the front.

 

[PakPremi]

He had looked in better touch wth bat and gloves as compared to a few months ago. Still a lot needs to be desired as he is the captain and should lead from the front.

In my opinion he needs to give up Test Captaincy to alleviate his work load.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

My bad, thanks. O Brien is a fantastic glovesman even in his mid 30s, probably among best pure gloves man in world.

I think he just called time on his career as recently as few weeks back. Gary Wilson is a very tidy keeper as well. Kept for Surrey too in county circuit if i am not wrong.

 

[JibranAnsari]

A lot of question marks looming over his captaincy and his batting.

 

[aukhan]

The only thing he has done enough is shouting.

 

[AAli98]

Would sack him just for his pathetic body language once NZ went +1 ahead.. imagine his team mates seeing captain shivering just with the thought of batting again!!

 

[Suleiman]

2017 fame has gotten to his head and belly as expected. He's satisfied winning CT17 and nothing else, need to give him the boot and bring him back to reality that even he isn't untouchable. But knowing media and his fans, they might even give death threats to selectors. He's a hafiz as well so some of our fans will use that to further advantage for blackmail, sadly that's how it is in Pakistan.

If he goes who captains though?

Azhar can't captain for jacksquat

Babar is not even consistent, his own place might be threatened.

Openers keep shifting

Asad has the confidence of a pair of underpants, can't do it.

Haris is a batsman likely to succeed at this level, may take a risk and give it to him. Maybe a bowler captain but who.

 

[MRSN]

Where are his fanboyz? Where is his extra ordinary captaincy? What about blunders with DRS calls again that is costing Pak once again? This guy has to be the most luckiest man on earth to lead Pak national side without any contribution.

 

[Hasan123]

Look at NZ. When the captain leads from the front look what happens .

Specialist captain for a reason .

 

[PakPremi]

Expected pack of hyena to come running when team has a bad day. Kiwis batted really well on a pitch offering nothing to bowlers. With rookie Shaheen in the team and Hasan Ali pulling up injury what do you expect Sarfraz to do if they played our spinners comfortable. Those moaning about reviews should know that everyone heard a noise for the first review it was good decision to take it. Sarfraz has actually got all but one decision wrong with reviews when taking and not taking. Show about blaming the team rather than just the captain, captain can lead but it is a team game

 

[MMHS]

10 cube (10 by 10 by 10).

That’s 10th among WKs, 10th among WK batsmen & 10th among Test Captains.

 

[MMHS]

Expected pack of hyena to come running when team has a bad day. Kiwis batted really well on a pitch offering nothing to bowlers. With rookie Shaheen in the team and Hasan Ali pulling up injury what do you expect Sarfraz to do if they played our spinners comfortable. Those moaning about reviews should know that everyone heard a noise for the first review it was good decision to take it. Sarfraz has actually got all but one decision wrong with reviews when taking and not taking. Show about blaming the team rather than just the captain, captain can lead but it is a team game

So true - it’s a team game. That’s why first quality for Captain should be to make playing XI on playing merit.

 

[PakPremi]

Look at NZ. When the captain leads from the front look what happens .

Specialist captain for a reason .

Williamson is top 4 batsman and you cannot compare his batting with Sarfraz and he had others assisting him on the other end by staying there. Who did Sarfraz had ?

 

[PakPremi]

So true - it’s a team game. That’s why first quality for Captain should be to make playing XI on playing merit.

How is he not ?
Keeping good
Batting good
Averages similar or better than to other regular keepers.

 

[MMHS]

How is he not ?
Keeping good
Batting good
Averages similar or better than to other regular keepers.

La jawab logic can’t argue. He is indeed befitting for PAK team.

 

[topspin]

2017 fame has gotten to his head and belly as expected. He's satisfied winning CT17 and nothing else, need to give him the boot and bring him back to reality that even he isn't untouchable. But knowing media and his fans, they might even give death threats to selectors. He's a hafiz as well so some of our fans will use that to further advantage for blackmail, sadly that's how it is in Pakistan.

If he goes who captains though?

Azhar can't captain for jacksquat

Babar is not even consistent, his own place might be threatened.

Openers keep shifting

Asad has the confidence of a pair of underpants, can't do it.

Haris is a batsman likely to succeed at this level, may take a risk and give it to him. Maybe a bowler captain but who.

Spot on analysis

 

[PakPremi]

La jawab logic can’t argue. He is indeed befitting for PAK team.

So janaab do you know of bradmanisque wicket keeper batsman being denied by Spineless Sarfraz. Please do not say Rizwan as you will lose credibility for your judgements. By the way number 1 team wicket keeper also scored 25 , but when Pak wicketkeeper scores same he is deemed useless.

 

[MRSN]

Expected pack of hyena to come running when team has a bad day. Kiwis batted really well on a pitch offering nothing to bowlers. With rookie Shaheen in the team and Hasan Ali pulling up injury what do you expect Sarfraz to do if they played our spinners comfortable. Those moaning about reviews should know that everyone heard a noise for the first review it was good decision to take it. Sarfraz has actually got all but one decision wrong with reviews when taking and not taking. Show about blaming the team rather than just the captain, captain can lead but it is a team game

Captain leads from the front and to be fair current NZ and Aus teams should get white washes in Asian conditions because they are not as strong side as they used to be especially their batting but we have failed to do so. We were whit washed by Sri Lankan rookie team in our own fortress. And Sarfraz had done nothing with the bat since he took over captaincy apart from one good test against Australia. One of the biggest liabilities and very overrated captain.

 

[MRSN]

How is he not ?
Keeping good
Batting good
Averages similar or better than to other regular keepers.

You surely don't follow much Pakistan cricket because you would know how much he loves to hide behind other players to avoid failing in crunch times in LOIs. In the final of champions trophy he was hiding behind the likes of Imad out of all. This guy has successfully avoided tough challenges and still is the captain of our team in all three formats. Gotta applaud he is too good for majority of Pak fans. Lol

 

[JaanZeb]

So the same plan of diverting blame away from selector Inzamam has started again. Who would they replace him with as captain and keeper, Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Rizwan? Mental midgets who have shown how to panic under pressure before also. Everybody needs to think sensibly will Shafiq or Azhar be able to get performances from the likes of Imam, Babar Azam, Hafeez and Shafiq himself? Will Rizwan single-handedly bat out alongwith the feeble lower batting order?

Can't blame Sarfraz for Yasir Shah dropping class player like Williamson twice. Similar thing happened in Leeds where Hasan Ali dropped Buttler and the match went out of our hand.

Our major problem lies in our batting. Pakistan is being humiliated again and again by Kiwis twice this year yet Inzamam selecting the same batsmen who lost to NZ 0-5 in odis.

Seniors like Shafiq or Azhar can't play a single pull shot and bat with a loser mindset. Hafeez and Imam's selection should be the point of discussion as Pakistan is hurting from the top for 4 tests now.

Looking at this senior lot in the team, Sarfaraz will make a comeback as captain within a series. Need to resolve our main issue instead of asking for someones head who is not responsible for the squad selections and has to carry passengers.

 

[aukhan]

lol @ the excuses coming from bakhts blame sarfraz's stupidity on Inzi now.

 

[Hasan123]

Williamson is top 4 batsman and you cannot compare his batting with Sarfraz and he had others assisting him on the other end by staying there. Who did Sarfraz had ?

Other batsmen performed specialist captain didn't do his job with the bat and hasn't done that for a while. He just isn't good enough for Pakistan .

 

[PakPremi]

You surely don't follow much Pakistan cricket because you would know how much he loves to hide behind other players to avoid failing in crunch times in LOIs. In the final of champions trophy he was hiding behind the likes of Imad out of all. This guy has successfully avoided tough challenges and still is the captain of our team in all three formats. Gotta applaud he is too good for majority of Pak fans. Lol

Coming later to bat means less time to play himself in hence more chance of him scoring low or going out when hitting out. So I call that unselfish act, bat to team's requirements. The game he sent Hasan Ali ahead of himself I would have done the same if I was his captain. Like your assessment of Sarfraz your assessment of my viewing experience is also wrong I am afraid.

 

[PakPremi]

lol @ the excuses coming from bakhts blame sarfraz's stupidity on Inzi now.

He has actually hit the nail on head, not necessarily Inzi's fault but Pak always had a weak batting and it is even worse now. We won many games due to excellence of our bowlers and few batsmen like Younis, Inzi, Miandad, and Saeed Anwar (and occasionally Mohd Yousif). You can change 10 captains but results will not be too dissimilar, till we stumble across good quality test batsmen just like we did in limited format with Fakhar and Babar. I am hoping these two could also go on do well in tests.

 

[AAli98]

Sarfraz LOL.. surley the final nail in his coffin.

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

no . big no

 

[aukhan]

He has been pathetic since he was made Test Captain. His premis and bakhts will continue to blame mickey, minnie, goofy, inzi to divert attention from his failures.

 

[MenInG]

If he keeps well and leads time well then yes.

 

[Saj]

Last 6 Test innings:

0
25
28
30*
2
3