Is Sarfaraz Ahmed now in danger of losing the dressing room as well!?

[MenInG]

His comments on bowlers in public cannot have won him friends in his team. Its one thing to shout at them in private but putting them down in public is horrible and will cause issues.

 

[leg-side-flick]

I think his idea was to protect batsmen, specifically Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, and through them he plans to carry on.

 

[Junaids]

His comments on bowlers in public cannot have won him friends in his team. Its one thing to shout at them in private but putting them down in public but say that in public is horrible and will cause issues.

Absolutely.

Sarfraz Ahmed is one of several players whose serial failures with the bat have lost multiple Tests in the last eight weeks.

Remember, the First Test at Abu Dhabi was lost by an absurd middle-order collapse.

But Sarfraz is now blaming fast-medium bowlers for bowling what they were picked to bowl! When he should be blaming Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam and HIMSELF for not scoring the runs they need to score.

The Misbah Era saw Misbah and Younis given a Free Pass for failing almost all the time in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. That has now created a Culture of Non-Accountability for the senior players.

This is what happened on those tours:

South Africa 2012-13
Misbah failed in 5 innings out of 6
Younis failed in 5 innings out of 6
Sarfraz failed in 5 innings out of 6

New Zealand 2016-17
Misbah failed in 2 innings out of 2
Younis failed in 4 innings out of 4
Sarfraz failed in 3 innings out of 4

Australia 2016-17
Misbah failed in 6 innings out of 6
Younis failed in 4 innings out of 6
Sarfraz failed in 3 innings out of 6

South Africa 2018-19
Sarfraz has failed in 3 innings out of 4

Sarfraz actually batted well overall in Australia. But look at these total cumulative Southern Hemisphere failure rates since 2012-13:

Younis failed in 13 innings out of 16.
Misbah failed in 13 innings out of 14.
Sarfraz has failed in 14 innings out of 20.

Stop blaming the bowlers!

 

[Khwaja78]

Coach Arthur, Talat Ali and supporting staff manages the Pakistan dressing room, Arthur's interaction with players lot more important. Sarfraz is just their to execute plans. Does'nt have much say in selections also which I used to think. ASad and Azhar will be history if selector dropes them and you wont hear a word from the captain. This is not the 90s dressing room where players had more power than the manager.

 

[hk031992]

Absolutely.

Sarfraz Ahmed is one of several players whose serial failures with the bat have lost multiple Tests in the last eight weeks.

Remember, the First Test at Abu Dhabi was lost by an absurd middle-order collapse.

But Sarfraz is now blaming fast-medium bowlers for bowling what they were picked to bowl! When he should be blaming Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam and HIMSELF for not scoring the runs they need to score.

The Misbah Era saw Misbah and Younis given a Free Pass for failing almost all the time in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. That has now created a Culture of Non-Accountability for the senior players.

This is what happened on those tours:

South Africa 2012-13
Misbah failed in 5 innings out of 6
Younis failed in 5 innings out of 6
Sarfraz failed in 5 innings out of 6

New Zealand 2016-17
Misbah failed in 2 innings out of 2
Younis failed in 4 innings out of 4
Sarfraz failed in 3 innings out of 4

Australia 2016-17
Misbah failed in 6 innings out of 6
Younis failed in 4 innings out of 6
Sarfraz failed in 3 innings out of 6

South Africa 2018-19
Sarfraz has failed in 3 innings out of 4

Sarfraz actually batted well overall in Australia. But look at these total cumulative Southern Hemisphere failure rates since 2012-13:

Younis failed in 13 innings out of 16.
Misbah failed in 13 innings out of 14.
Sarfraz has failed in 14 innings out of 20.

Stop blaming the bowlers!

excellent post, fully agree

 

[Saj]

I think he's lost the dressing room already, apart from a couple of senior sidekicks of his who he will never drop.

 

[Hasan123]

Best captain since IK who can't even control the dressing room .

Think the players have had enough of someone shouting at them when he doesn't even make the team on merit.

 

[Sherlock]

Said it before the dressing is lost, either by Sarfraz or Arthur or even worse, both have lost the players.

Sarfraz, for me, has been a poor Test captain and his ODI career has only been elevated with his success in the CT. He's been average at best throughout the period after the victory over India and deserves to be dropped from the Tests as well as the ODIs.

 

[Junaids]

I think he's lost the dressing room already, apart from a couple of senior sidekicks of his who he will never drop.

This is where Inzamam and Mickey need to be ruthless and drop him.

At his best Sarfraz is an international class cricketer.

But he’s a lousy skipper, and when he’s not batting at 100% he spoils the balance of the team compared with Mohammad Rizwan.

I would be inclined to tell him he’s out of the team until he regains his form.

At the same time, I’d advise Azhar Ali that Friday is his final Test, and he’s opening, but that Pakistan would like to honour him by making him the captain for the game. If he says no, that’s fine, Shan Masood was going to take over from the next game anyway.

 

[MRSN]

Won't be surprised if there is grouping now or bowlers under performing. The sooner PCB get rid of Sarfraz as captain better it will be for Pakistan cricket.

 

[MRSN]

This is where Inzamam and Mickey need to be ruthless and drop him.

At his best Sarfraz is an international class cricketer.

But he’s a lousy skipper, and when he’s not batting at 100% he spoils the balance of the team compared with Mohammad Rizwan.

I would be inclined to tell him he’s out of the team until he regains his form.

At the same time, I’d advise Azhar Ali that Friday is his final Test, but that Pakistan would like to honour him by making him the captain for the game. If he says no, that’s fine, Shan Masood was going to take over fromnthe next game anyway.

The biggest problem with Sarfraz is he doesn't command respect of his team mates because he acts like a dictator on the field and this publicaly shaming his team mates won't help him. He lacks professionalism as a captain. Even Misbah was a mediocre captain but he always behaved professionally and had a good relations with his team mates. His performances may not have been match winning but he made sure he does enough to inspire his team.

 

[Hasan123]

Won't be surprised if there is grouping now or bowlers under performing. The sooner PCB get rid of Sarfraz as captain better it will be for Pakistan cricket.

Best captain since IK who doesn't make the team on merit and can't even control the dressing room) .

His 2 fans have even gone into hiding. Like they did after our last 2 test defeats.

 

[j_kazmi]

The next test should be Sarfraz’s last as captain. I would appoint Azhar as a stop gap for a short while, even though his performances haven’t been great.

 

[MRSN]

Best captain since IK who doesn't make the team on merit and can't even control the dressing room) .

His 2 fans have even gone into hiding. Like they did after our last 2 test defeats.

The only fans he has are the ones who promote regionalism. Cricket should be above nepotism, regionalism. 100% merit is the way to go. It's a national sport not limited to one or two cities.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Sarfaraz is not a good test batter, period. If Pak has any other keeper batters then replace him else no point changing him for the sake of it.

 

[MMHS]

In danger!!!!! Now!!!!!! I am sure he has lost most of his players already.

I see there is a genuine lack of effort from the bowlers. After 1st Test, this guy accused bowlers not performing up to the level on such bowling friendly conditions when 3 pacers limited SAF’s lead below 50, and batsmen blew a winning position in one session.

I see a genuine selfishness in batting from Babar, whom I do believe an honest trier - this is 4th time (from NZ series), he is been left with tail when he should be batting in position of one of the 2 seniors.

I see a genuine dejection from PAK young players barring Imam understandably; because these guys are suffering from constant verbal bashing from their non performing thug like skipper.

As I wrote in game thread - no one wants to work for a manager, who doesn’t work himself, can’t support with directions, puts team under bus in crisis, criticises in front of others, maintains double standard and only good at managing own boss - on top of that, this guy is filthy mouth and even there he is selective.

It’s really shameful to see that his band wagon has gone AWOL from PP in last few days, when more or less everyone (including Indians & Bangladeshis) are genuinely hurt by this performance, which makes it clear that Sarfraz represents a particular group of people/city and players definitely know this .... hence that desire to fight for Captain is not there.

If PCB Chairman is reading this particular thread should immediately ask this guy to resign from ODI Captaincy as well (his Test Captaincy is over, be sure about it), and appoint a new captain for WC, who’ll get 15 games to prepare before heading towards UK. If this guy takes PAK to WC, where they’ll be together for at least 7 weeks ...... I smell blood in PAK dressing room after long time. And, PAK’s WC birdie will escape even before setting the trap.

Sarfraz doesn’t own PCT, neither young players who might have debuted or performed under him. He must go - he owes PCT for his stardom, rather than other way round.

 

[Pete Rose]

This was a bad take by Sarfaraz

 

[Amjid Javed]

Every loss theres an excuse.

Loss to SL and he says that the two stupid sweep shots are part of game and it brings him runs so he wont stop.

The tail was to blame for the loss to new zealand.

Bowler friendly pitches, poor speeds of our bowlers and 1 tour match are to blame.

The guy has no dignity, needs to be dropped from tests and odis.

Dropping sarfraz so close to world cup wont effect team as hes a fringing passenger in side.

 

[Ahmed216]

I feel Hasan Ali will lead the rebellion. He appears most annoyed with Sarfraz's antics

 

[Zaz]

the bowlers have a right to be aggrieved Its the batsman and sarfi that have constantly let the team down over the last 12 months in test cricket and he seems to throw everyone under the best but them

 

[aukhan]

His media manipulation along with blaming other players for his own incompetence reminds me of Afridi.

It's time to update my signature again. This time it will be #GoSarfarazGO

 

[last_knight]

I was saying it in match thread.
A set of disconnected players, but not a team. It was so obvious.
More than leading from front, a Captain needs to cement his players to make a team. Darren Sammy is not a "leading from front" Captain but he channels in his players into a TEAM.

Sarfraz will still have respect from these same players in T20s. He just can not captain beyond 30 overs. We Can not criticise someone for failing in a task that's beyond his limits. Here, Blame goes to CS.

wrt his comment about bowlers' speed'
These same bowlers would have been bowling 10kph faster if batsmen had scored 300+, regularly.

 

[aloo paratha]

How are you going to blame the bowlers when you gave them nothing to defend? Had we scored 300, the bowling would've looked completely different. Sarfraz deserves to be sacked.

 

[IMMY69]

I think he lost it during or before the Asia Cup..

I know people make excuses for losses to make themselves better but something didn’t feel right with the players then and it hasn’t changed since.

However, if this is the case then it’s totally unacceptable.

 

[Abdul]

Hahaha. I can't wait for this guy to get kicked out.

Pakistan's greatest captain after Imran Khan, as some liked to say. ))

 

[Fahdi]

Can't say the bowlers and the youngsters would appreciate the failures of the seniors being glossed over and the captain not owning up to his own mistakes. Add to that he call out the bowlers for not bowling as fast as SA when they were never as quick to begin with and had to deal with being a fast bowler short. These guys aren't the most hot-headed bunch but someone like Akhtar might have thumped him with a bat, not joking here.

Should have shown more tact.

 

[TeamPak95]

Didn't see this but... oh boy

 

[Amjid Javed]

Sarfraz knows hes a dead man walking, the seniors were blasted by coach in last game. No improvement here and now sarfraz blames his bowlers. I doubt anyone wants to play under him accept azhar and asad. Rumours are he refused to drop asad before this game despite coach wanting otherwise.

 

[barah_admi]

He should be dropped, replaced and changes made throughout the batting line up.

 

[Snowflake]

Not defending Sarfraz's performance as a batsman, but its about time Pakistan gets on with the modern culture of saying it how it is and not treating teammates like a bunch of teenage girls who would get offended at the very hint of criticism.

Professional sportsmen should be able to handle it when the captain or the coach shows them the mirror. Why does everything have to be done behind closed doors? Being too soft and having fragile egos is what has got us here. Unfortunately, the fans have gotten accustomed to this culture too which is quite evident from this thread.

Look at Australia right now. They're losing and the captain/coach has made no qualms about having heated discussions with the bowlers regarding their ineffectiveness.

Professional sports is a tough man's business, if you can get hurt by a little bit of truth, you're in the wrong profession.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Honestly this was expected after he scored a 50. An innings he knew he could refer to, to shut people up.

But honestly, isn’t that the case with almost every Pakistani cricketer? Its a recurrent theme reflecting a very strong cultural aspect. A culture that encourages boasting about your achievements (sometimes very minor ones) and finding 100 excuses for things that have gone wrong.

I watched Mohammad Hafeez’ interview post his retirement and all he spoke was about how he did an unprecedented favor by retiring at the right time, about his “match winning” comeback innings against Ozzies, and about how “his runs” always help the team. Pure cringe.

Then we have Asad Shafiq who raises his bat after an 88 very well knowing that his team is still in deep trouble.

Who can forget YK boasting about his “30 odd” in some random ODI game to the media when he was dropped.

Then if you have watched Shoaib Akhtar you must have heared about his sacrifices, his injured knee, his unbelievable potential, jigra, dil, etc.

Everyone feels self entitled. Sarfaraz is not the first or the last one. He too will blame others once he knows he has something to fall back upon.

 

[ikky47]

Honestly this was expected after he scored a 50. An innings he knew he could refer to, to shut people up.

But honestly, isn’t that the case with almost every Pakistani cricketer? Its a recurrent theme reflecting a very strong cultural aspect. A culture that encourages boasting about your achievements (sometimes very minor ones) and finding 100 excuses for things that have gone wrong.

I watched Mohammad Hafeez’ interview post his retirement and all he spoke was about how he did an unprecedented favor by retiring at the right time, about his “match winning” comeback innings against Ozzies, and about how “his runs” always help the team. Pure cringe.

Then we have Asad Shafiq who raises his bat after an 88 very well knowing that his team is still in deep trouble.

Who can forget YK boasting about his “30 odd” in some random ODI game to the media when he was dropped.

Then if you have watched Shoaib Akhtar you must have heared about his sacrifices, his injured knee, his unbelievable potential, jigra, dil, etc.

Everyone feels self entitled. Sarfaraz is not the first or the last one. He too will blame others once he knows he has something to fall back upon.

POTW nicely summed up the mentality of Pakistani cricketers.

 

[Varun]

Honestly this was expected after he scored a 50. An innings he knew he could refer to, to shut people up.

But honestly, isn’t that the case with almost every Pakistani cricketer? Its a recurrent theme reflecting a very strong cultural aspect. A culture that encourages boasting about your achievements (sometimes very minor ones) and finding 100 excuses for things that have gone wrong.

I watched Mohammad Hafeez’ interview post his retirement and all he spoke was about how he did an unprecedented favor by retiring at the right time, about his “match winning” comeback innings against Ozzies, and about how “his runs” always help the team. Pure cringe.

Then we have Asad Shafiq who raises his bat after an 88 very well knowing that his team is still in deep trouble.

Who can forget YK boasting about his “30 odd” in some random ODI game to the media when he was dropped.

Then if you have watched Shoaib Akhtar you must have heared about his sacrifices, his injured knee, his unbelievable potential, jigra, dil, etc.

Everyone feels self entitled. Sarfaraz is not the first or the last one. He too will blame others once he knows he has something to fall back upon.

Succinct post - most would agree.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Not defending Sarfraz's performance as a batsman, but its about time Pakistan gets on with the modern culture of saying it how it is and not treating teammates like a bunch of teenage girls who would get offended at the very hint of criticism.

Professional sportsmen should be able to handle it when the captain or the coach shows them the mirror. Why does everything have to be done behind closed doors? Being too soft and having fragile egos is what has got us here. Unfortunately, the fans have gotten accustomed to this culture too which is quite evident from this thread.

Look at Australia right now. They're losing and the captain/coach has made no qualms about having heated discussions with the bowlers regarding their ineffectiveness.

Professional sports is a tough man's business, if you can get hurt by a little bit of truth, you're in the wrong profession.

We were bowled out for 170, yet according to sarfraz its the bowlers fault for not doing well. How demoralizing is it for our bowlers when game after game they are slugging guts outs and batsmen keep failing. Public dressing downs are fine, but not when our pathetic batsmen and captain have been reason again and again for losses.

 

[Hitman]

Hahaha. I can't wait for this guy to get kicked out.

Pakistan's greatest captain after Imran Khan, as some liked to say. ))

He doesn't need to bat well to be in the team. Blame his team mates who are not performing

 

[dildilpak]

Honestly this was expected after he scored a 50. An innings he knew he could refer to, to shut people up.

But honestly, isn’t that the case with almost every Pakistani cricketer? Its a recurrent theme reflecting a very strong cultural aspect. A culture that encourages boasting about your achievements (sometimes very minor ones) and finding 100 excuses for things that have gone wrong.

I watched Mohammad Hafeez’ interview post his retirement and all he spoke was about how he did an unprecedented favor by retiring at the right time, about his “match winning” comeback innings against Ozzies, and about how “his runs” always help the team. Pure cringe.

Then we have Asad Shafiq who raises his bat after an 88 very well knowing that his team is still in deep trouble.

Who can forget YK boasting about his “30 odd” in some random ODI game to the media when he was dropped.

Then if you have watched Shoaib Akhtar you must have heared about his sacrifices, his injured knee, his unbelievable potential, jigra, dil, etc.

Everyone feels self entitled. Sarfaraz is not the first or the last one. He too will blame others once he knows he has something to fall back upon.

POTW. Very well summed up

 

[Ahmed216]

Not defending Sarfraz's performance as a batsman, but its about time Pakistan gets on with the modern culture of saying it how it is and not treating teammates like a bunch of teenage girls who would get offended at the very hint of criticism.

Professional sportsmen should be able to handle it when the captain or the coach shows them the mirror. Why does everything have to be done behind closed doors? Being too soft and having fragile egos is what has got us here. Unfortunately, the fans have gotten accustomed to this culture too which is quite evident from this thread.

Look at Australia right now. They're losing and the captain/coach has made no qualms about having heated discussions with the bowlers regarding their ineffectiveness.

Professional sports is a tough man's business, if you can get hurt by a little bit of truth, you're in the wrong profession.

I would say bowlers have done fairly well under the circumstances as our batsmen havent really given them many runs to play with.
Remember its the scoreboard pressure that often induces mistakes from batsmen and Saffers have not been forced to deal with it.
Not to forget these bowlers are very young at this level and most if not all are touring SA for first time.
On difficult away tours you bank on seniors with experience of playing in those conditions to perform, but unfortunately Saifi and his friends have been disappointing as expected

 

[ShahidDar08]

Both batting and bowling is mediocre.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Really odd for Sarfraz to criticize the bowling since almost everytime they win in either Tests/ODI/T20, it is due to the fantastic bowling.

It just seems like the bar for Pakistan batting has been set so low with constant horrendous batting for decades that the batting group is almost praised for nearly reaching 300 in SA.

 

[waleed88]

His comments on bowlers in public cannot have won him friends in his team. Its one thing to shout at them in private but putting them down in public is horrible and will cause issues.

Its been coming for a while, unfortunately he is doing no favors to himself with his form as a batsman.

 

[fitCricFan]

If purging him of the burden of captaincy improves his batting skills and consistency then do it. No need to second guess it

 

[Wasim_Waqar]

I think he's lost the dressing room already, apart from a couple of senior sidekicks of his who he will never drop.

Hafeez, Malik, Azhar and Asad?

 

[Junaids]

Honestly this was expected after he scored a 50. An innings he knew he could refer to, to shut people up.

But honestly, isn’t that the case with almost every Pakistani cricketer? Its a recurrent theme reflecting a very strong cultural aspect. A culture that encourages boasting about your achievements (sometimes very minor ones) and finding 100 excuses for things that have gone wrong.

I watched Mohammad Hafeez’ interview post his retirement and all he spoke was about how he did an unprecedented favor by retiring at the right time, about his “match winning” comeback innings against Ozzies, and about how “his runs” always help the team. Pure cringe.

Then we have Asad Shafiq who raises his bat after an 88 very well knowing that his team is still in deep trouble.

Who can forget YK boasting about his “30 odd” in some random ODI game to the media when he was dropped.

Then if you have watched Shoaib Akhtar you must have heared about his sacrifices, his injured knee, his unbelievable potential, jigra, dil, etc.

Everyone feels self entitled. Sarfaraz is not the first or the last one. He too will blame others once he knows he has something to fall back upon.

POTW.

Brilliant, brilliant summary.

 

[kingusama92]

Saw this from a mile away and called it months ago.

Win or lose any captain that behaves like him has a very short shelf life.

 

[shaz619]

His comments on bowlers in public cannot have won him friends in his team. Its one thing to shout at them in private but putting them down in public is horrible and will cause issues.

After these comments he must be forced to retire, this is beyond pathetic what kind of leader is he!

 

[Junaids]

I have finally just watched the Sarfraz comments on a well-known cricket website.

I am shocked and outraged by the viciousness of his comments about the bowlers.

I have been one of his great defenders on this forum - as recently as yesterday I wrote that in England and Australia in 2016 the only world class series of performancesby a Pakistani was by Sarfraz Ahmed.

But you can ask Jose Mourinho or anyone else - in 2019 you get NOWHERE by ling at elite sportsmen. That world no longer exists.

Abbas bowled very much like Philander in the Cape Town Test - and that's what he is.

Amir bowled at around 10K faster than Philander and 10K slower than Steyn and Rabada. And that's what he is too.

SSA bowled like a very tall 18 year old who knows that the team is a fast bowler short and can't afford for its youngster to break down. And that's what he is.

But a leader cannot publically attack his bowlers like this when match after match after match it is the batsmen who are losing matches.

He shouldn't attack the batsmen in public either.

I've had enough of Sarfraz. He is failing as a batsman and he no longer deserves his place in the team.

Mickey and Inzamam should drop him for Johannesburg. He can sit next to Yasir Shah and watch the match.

 

[gazza619]

I have finally just watched the Sarfraz comments on a well-known cricket website.

I am shocked and outraged by the viciousness of his comments about the bowlers.

I have been one of his great defenders on this forum - as recently as yesterday I wrote that in England and Australia in 2016 the only world class series of performancesby a Pakistani was by Sarfraz Ahmed.

But you can ask Jose Mourinho or anyone else - in 2019 you get NOWHERE by ling at elite sportsmen. That world no longer exists.

Abbas bowled very much like Philander in the Cape Town Test - and that's what he is.

Amir bowled at around 10K faster than Philander and 10K slower than Steyn and Rabada. And that's what he is too.

SSA bowled like a very tall 18 year old who knows that the team is a fast bowler short and can't afford for its youngster to break down. And that's what he is.

But a leader cannot publically attack his bowlers like this when match after match after match it is the batsmen who are losing matches.

He shouldn't attack the batsmen in public either.

I've had enough of Sarfraz. He is failing as a batsman and he no longer deserves his place in the team.

Mickey and Inzamam should drop him for Johannesburg. He can sit next to Yasir Shah and watch the match.

Agreed 100%. Really shameless comments as a captain. He has lost it.

 

[hitthestump]

Surely the performances alone tell us that he lost the dressing room a while ago anyway. How can you as a player can respect shouty-chubby man when his own ability resembles that of 2nd XI club level. Hopefully with these comments his days are over after the final test.

 

[PakHammer]

Shoiab Malik should replace Safaraz as captain for ODIs and World Cup. Seems to me that the youngsters respect Malik so he would make a good stop gap until after the world cup depending on our performance.

To me Safaraz has no place in the team at any format now. His performances dont merit that and he has become toxic for the team.

 

[gazza619]

Shoiab Malik should replace Safaraz as captain for ODIs and World Cup. Seems to me that the youngsters respect Malik so he would make a good stop gap until after the world cup depending on our performance.

To me Safaraz has no place in the team at any format now. His performances dont merit that and he has become toxic for the team.

I quite like the suggestion actually. Malik was a cool headed captain. Need to train Shan or Babar under him.

 

[QuickCrick]

Can someone post the link of what he said? Thanks

 

[coy0607]

when i saw the thread title, I thought there would be actual substance inside

...this is just pure speculation. Misleading title!

 

[OmarKhan99]

I think it would benefit that people actually watch the press conference instead of forming an opinion over the quotes.

Sarfraz did, in fact, acknowledge the frailties inherent in the batting in the same presser and he has been doing so quite vocally since our home season started back in October last year (quite frustrating tbh). He responded with the lack of pace comment when he was specifically asked about how the fast bowlers weren't able to restrict this South African line-up to a much lower total.

If we opt to be not fickle and instead look at the facts, it's clear that he isn't wrong. The bowlers were not only bowling much slower than what they are capable of but as evident by the SA quicks on display, they needlessly bowled within themselves on a pitch with clear advantages of going full throttle. I understand the need to curb your speed in England and West Indies, in order to maximize the swinging conditions, but it makes no sense to "preserve" your energy when you start bowling a pie an over after the first 5 anyways. If you are going to bowl at that pace, the least you could do is it land it on the right areas for two over straight. Clearly an issue of the bowlers not being able to build up the necessary stamina with adequate rest. This tour could finally make the management seriously look into how our fast bowlers should be aptly managed.

Don't think Sarfraz was in the wrong here, bowlers definitely didn't bowl as well as they could have. Having said that, I don't think Sarfraz can continue much longer on the current trajectory. There has been a recent surge in the negativity in his approach and his unyielding denial from changing it has been quite astonishing and disappointing. He refuses to try something different or maybe is too afraid to do so. Either way, refusing to part from his rigid ways is one reason why in so many of the games of recent past, once a partnership starts to thrive, it almost certainly takes the game away from us. Saw it all the way from the Asia Cup (multiple times), to the test Australia drew in UAE, to the tests we lost against NZ and now, this latest match. He simply stands on the backs of his heels and waits for the opposition to make a fatal mistake that could potentially trigger a collapse. Not every team is Pakistan, Sarfraz.

 

[PakLFC]

It is the batsmen who don't score any runs. Stop blaming the bowlers for that.

 

[OmarKhan99]

I think it would benefit that people actually watch the press conference instead of forming an opinion over the quotes.

Sarfraz did, in fact, acknowledge the frailties inherent in the batting in the same presser and he has been doing so quite vocally since our home season started back in October last year (quite frustrating tbh). He responded with the lack of pace comment when he was specifically asked about how the fast bowlers weren't able to restrict this South African line-up to a much lower total.

If we opt to be not fickle and instead look at the facts, it's clear that he isn't wrong. The bowlers were not only bowling much slower than what they are capable of but as evident by the SA quicks on display, they needlessly bowled within themselves on a pitch with clear advantages of going full throttle. I understand the need to curb your speed in England and West Indies, in order to maximize the swinging conditions, but it makes no sense to "preserve" your energy when you start bowling a pie an over after the first 5 anyways. If you are going to bowl at that pace, the least you could do is it land it on the right areas for two over straight. Clearly an issue of the bowlers not being able to build up the necessary stamina with adequate rest. This tour could finally make the management seriously look into how our fast bowlers should be aptly managed.

Don't think Sarfraz was in the wrong here, bowlers definitely didn't bowl as well as they could have. Having said that, I don't think Sarfraz can continue much longer on the current trajectory. There has been a recent surge in the negativity in his approach and his unyielding denial from changing it has been quite astonishing and disappointing. He refuses to try something different or maybe is too afraid to do so. Either way, refusing to part from his rigid ways is one reason why in so many of the games of recent past, once a partnership starts to thrive, it almost certainly takes the game away from us. Saw it all the way from the Asia Cup (multiple times), to the test Australia drew in UAE, to the tests we lost against NZ and now, this latest match. He simply stands on the backs of his heels and waits for the opposition to make a fatal mistake that could potentially trigger a collapse. Not every team is Pakistan, Sarfraz.

Still don't think we need to over react though. Let the events take its natural course and see how it plays out. It's amazing how a few difficult wins under the belt can miraculously change the morale and reignite motivation in the dressing room.

 

[Junaids]

He responded with the lack of pace comment when he was specifically asked about how the fast bowlers weren't able to restrict this South African line-up to a much lower total.

If we opt to be not fickle and instead look at the facts, it's clear that he isn't wrong. The bowlers were not only bowling much slower than what they are capable of but as evident by the SA quicks on display, they needlessly bowled within themselves on a pitch with clear advantages of going full throttle. I understand the need to curb your speed in England and West Indies, in order to maximize the swinging conditions, but it makes no sense to "preserve" your energy when you start bowling a pie an over after the first 5 anyways. If you are going to bowl at that pace, the least you could do is it land it on the right areas for two over straight. Clearly an issue of the bowlers not being able to build up the necessary stamina with adequate rest. This tour could finally make the management seriously look into how our fast bowlers should be aptly managed.

Don't think Sarfraz was in the wrong here, bowlers definitely didn't bowl as well as they could have.

I will just say what I wrote earlier.

Abbas bowled very much like Philander in the Cape Town Test - and that's what he is.

Amir bowled at around 10K faster than Philander and 10K slower than Steyn and Rabada. And that's what he is too.

SSA bowled like a very tall 18 year old who knows that the team is a fast bowler short and can't afford for its youngster to break down. And that's what he is.

You pick Aaqib Javed and then you berate him for not bowling as fast as Waqar Younis!

Or you pick Glenn McGrath and then berate him for not bowling as fast as Brett Lee!

The three pace bowlers were marginally down on their usual pace.

Mohammad Amir and SSA were playing back-to-back Tests in an attack which was one fast bowler short, and they were carrying Yasir Shah on their backs as a passenger.

Mohammad Abbas was rushed back semi-fit and bowled slightly slower than usual.

What does anybody expect?

 

[BreadPakoda]

POTW nicely summed up the mentality of Pakistani cricketers.

Succinct post - most would agree.

POTW. Very well summed up

POTW.

Brilliant, brilliant summary.

Thanks guys

 

[OmarKhan99]

I will just say what I wrote earlier.

Abbas bowled very much like Philander in the Cape Town Test - and that's what he is.

Amir bowled at around 10K faster than Philander and 10K slower than Steyn and Rabada. And that's what he is too.

SSA bowled like a very tall 18 year old who knows that the team is a fast bowler short and can't afford for its youngster to break down. And that's what he is.

You pick Aaqib Javed and then you berate him for not bowling as fast as Waqar Younis!

Or you pick Glenn McGrath and then berate him for not bowling as fast as Brett Lee!

The three pace bowlers were marginally down on their usual pace.

Mohammad Amir and SSA were playing back-to-back Tests in an attack which was one fast bowler short, and they were carrying Yasir Shah on their backs as a passenger.

Mohammad Abbas was rushed back semi-fit and bowled slightly slower than usual.

What does anybody expect?

And I'll just point you to something I wrote in another thread:

I can't believe people think our bowlers just don't posses the pace. I mean, the same Hasan clocked 147 (the CdG dismissal irrc) in one of his spells on the non-conducive wickets of UAE recently and it's already a well-known fact that Amir purposely cuts his speed down in Tests and to a lesser extent in ODIs. When he goes full throttle, he can breach the 145 barrier (seen it in the T20s and T10s). Shaheen is probably the paciest of the lot, but looks to be carrying a niggle. He too, has bowled quite a few 145+ bowls in what little we have seen of him in the LOIs. All of a sudden, none of them can barely go past 133-135 on a regular basis. Can't be anything apart from inadequate rest.

Abbas's speeds were fine, but his lines weren't as impeccable as we've grown to expect them to be. Understandable, since he's coming back from a shoulder injury.


Amir is 10 kph slower than the likes of Rabada and Steyn? Got to be kidding me. He regularly clocks in at 145, or thereabouts, when he bowls in the shortest formats. Also, "61% of his deliveries were in the 120-132 range", considerably slower than he has ever operated at in his entire test career. This isn't the norm for him, as you may have suggested. It clearly illustrates the issue: has the potential to bowl real quickly but no stamina (or no confidence in his stamina) to sustain it in tests.

Shaheen bowled slowly on purpose given he was aware that he could break down? I'm sorry, I fail to understand the logic and rationale behind that. That would make more sense if it was the case that he bowled slowly (127-135) in his 3rd or 4th spell, but pretty sure he was hovering around that range (maybe marginally higher) even in his first. Why would he try to prolong his suffer by bowling within himself for extensive amounts of time when it was abundantly clear in the previous innings that directing genuine heat even in short bursts would do for dismissals? Don't think I saw him cross 138-140 throughout the entirety of the match. It's not that he can't bowl fast, pretty sure everyone agrees that he clearly does have the potential to bowl really quick.

All in all, as I've said before, our fast bowlers needs to be managed more carefully. All of them have shown on different occasions that they are equipped with the necessary pace to justify the tag. I reckon the management were just not able to prepare them in time for the tour.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

No skill and no class....Send the muppet captain back home and retire him.

Some of us have been predicting these events for over a year...

 

[Indiafan]

Not defending Sarfraz's performance as a batsman, but its about time Pakistan gets on with the modern culture of saying it how it is and not treating teammates like a bunch of teenage girls who would get offended at the very hint of criticism.

Professional sportsmen should be able to handle it when the captain or the coach shows them the mirror. Why does everything have to be done behind closed doors? Being too soft and having fragile egos is what has got us here. Unfortunately, the fans have gotten accustomed to this culture too which is quite evident from this thread.

Look at Australia right now. They're losing and the captain/coach has made no qualms about having heated discussions with the bowlers regarding their ineffectiveness.

Professional sports is a tough man's business, if you can get hurt by a little bit of truth, you're in the wrong profession.

Captain and coaches always show the mirror in private. You do not air your dirty laundry in public. That Is the opposite of professionalism

Your post doesn't make any sense. Which tough coach or captain in any sports call out their players in press conference? It has nothing to do with being tough or the truth. It is just a weak captain making excuses to the media

Professionals do not sell each other out in the media. Captain and coach have lots of times to give direct cutting feedback to the player. Not makes excuses and sell his players out publicly

Any good and professional leader criticizes in private and praises in public. The captain takes the onus and responsibility in public

 

[Snowflake]

We were bowled out for 170, yet according to sarfraz its the bowlers fault for not doing well. How demoralizing is it for our bowlers when game after game they are slugging guts outs and batsmen keep failing. Public dressing downs are fine, but not when our pathetic batsmen and captain have been reason again and again for losses.

I completely agree with you in that we've lost the series largely because of batting failures. Also, the batsmen should definitely bear most of the brunt.

However, my post was specifically addressing the issue that we've grown accustomed to this soft culture of protecting egos and being fearful of hurting the feelings of the players. I do not think Sarfraz said anything that a professional sportsman cannot handle. Bowlers were below par. Their pace was well below expectations. There's a mark on their fitness for the longer format. Unfortunately, most of us would perceive this as 'airing your dirty laundry in public' whereas I think it is just being honest and a blunt reminder of what is expected of a player.

Lastly, I don't think he ever said that it's the bowlers fault that we lost. It's not a hidden secret that the batters lost you the series but that doesn't mean that bowlers can be absolved of any blame.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Don't wash your dirty clothes in public.
Sarfraz is hiding himself behind bowlers

 

[Junaids]

I completely agree with you in that we've lost the series largely because of batting failures. Also, the batsmen should definitely bear most of the brunt.

However, my post was specifically addressing the issue that we've grown accustomed to this soft culture of protecting egos and being fearful of hurting the feelings of the players. I do not think Sarfraz said anything that a professional sportsman cannot handle. Bowlers were below par. Their pace was well below expectations. There's a mark on their fitness for the longer format. Unfortunately, most of us would perceive this as 'airing your dirty laundry in public' whereas I think it is just being honest and a blunt reminder of what is expected of a player.

Lastly, I don't think he ever said that it's the bowlers fault that we lost. It's not a hidden secret that the batters lost you the series but that doesn't mean that bowlers can be absolved of any blame.

I would not have an issue if Mickey Arthur IN THE DRESSING ROOM grabbed Azhar Ali by the throat, told him that he was an ageing has-been who is disgracing his position and told him to announce his retirement after the Johannesburg Test.

In fact that would be fairly appropriate.

But you can't do that in public.

You need the team to know that your expectations of standards are higher than they think. But in private.

 

[ayemgilani86]

Mickey has his favorites in the team, sarfaraz has his and inzi has his, no one else can break into this private club, its the same culture that fostered during Misbah era

 

[Savak]

I would say bowlers have done fairly well under the circumstances as our batsmen havent really given them many runs to play with.
Remember its the scoreboard pressure that often induces mistakes from batsmen and Saffers have not been forced to deal with it.
Not to forget these bowlers are very young at this level and most if not all are touring SA for first time.
On difficult away tours you bank on seniors with experience of playing in those conditions to perform, but unfortunately Saifi and his friends have been disappointing as expected

This is something that needs to be asked from the selectors, if you deliberately select a young and inexperienced bowling attack to tours of Australia and South Africa, you can't use their inexperience as an excuse for their poor showing.

If experience of bowling in these conditions was vital then why did we not select Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan. Wahab was Pakistan's best bowler on the tour to Australia while Junaid was the best bowler in the odis but the over rated Amir has to always be selected well ahead of v others based on what he did in 2010

 

[Sher Khan]

His point was right in the fact their was a massive difference in pace between the two teams. Guys like Amir do need the kick to tell them they are being lazy and not putting enough effort in. In terms of the dressing room, who cares how the environment is like in the dressing room. We only want to see results.

 

[MenInG]

when i saw the thread title, I thought there would be actual substance inside

...this is just pure speculation. Misleading title!

Will amend it slightly.

 

[Green Patriot]

Shoiab Malik should replace Safaraz as captain for ODIs and World Cup. Seems to me that the youngsters respect Malik so he would make a good stop gap until after the world cup depending on our performance.

To me Safaraz has no place in the team at any format now. His performances dont merit that and he has become toxic for the team.

I think i agree with you here.
I have heard some interviews of Babar where he has been praising Malik as a mentor and has mentioned how he has helped him improve straight hits and playing vs spin.The others might also respect him.And in LOI he will be in the team that's for sure.

But under his captaincy the PCB should name a proper vice captain(Babar was named our VC in LoI but i have never seen him involved or being trained to lead)and he should be trained to lead the side as Malik will probably retire after the worldcup and he is not a permanent solution anyways.But right now in terms of captaincy we seem to be at a dead end and he might be a good choice,cant be worse than Sarfaraz.but i dont know if he will want it though.

 

[yasir]

Very unprofessional from Sarfraz, shows how deterimental is lack of education in Pakistani cricket professionals, This is one place we miss Misbah a lot, he knew how to conduct himself in public.

Australia just lost a series for the first time at home to Asian side, well their bowlers did not bowl well too, Did Paine or Langer went after Starc and Hazelwood, that tiger lengths are too short, their is sometihng wrong with them??

Pakistani bowlers bowl badly but in one innings, last test they were much better and bring us back into the game, there are reason for that but as a Captain you never want to talk about dressing room stuff in public. At times it feels lack of grip on English is another reason he blabs incoherently in public and embarrasses himself and the nation, little education goes long way in fixing these situations

But the main reason we are down is our batting and poor team selection, we would have been lot closer with 5+2+3 in both tests, bowlers would have been fresher and would have long tail.

 

[aukhan]

Im sure no one respects him in the dressing room apart from Asad, Azhar and Yasir.