Is Sarfaraz Ahmed the most selfless player in Pakistan cricket history?

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Well i started watching cricket in 1996 and due to having elder brothers and elder cousins who were club cricketers got passionately interested in this game but sadly since that time Pak cricketers are known for wrong reasons. Our (super)stars sadly have a history of (alleged) fixing, grouping, infighting, oath taking etc. Recently a breed of selfish cricketers like ones who are/were more interested in maintaining their averages or 'entertaining' the crowd. Also, hogging spots of youngsters till eternity.

While Sarfaraz is no where in skill as those 'Legends' of past but what he brings is selfless attitude and putting Pakistan team first at any cost. A recent example is the last t20 against WI where Sarfraz could have easily come at no 4 (it was actually decided that Sarfraz will bat at 4 in this series unless hitting is required from the word go) and could have scored some cheap runs, but he gave youngster Asif a chance. Although I am not a big fan of Asif but Sarfaraz promoting himself up would have most likely ended the career of Asif (like many youngsters in past, not getting enough chances and seniors hogging to their spots performing in easy conditions). This is how you give confidence to kids, this is how you make a good team a great team.

Pak criket is in safe hands till Sarfaraz is there and I am pretty sure once Sarfaraz leaves, he will leave Pakistan cricket in a much better situation with future stars. Pata nahi kiski dua lagi hai that we have found a gem like Sarfaraz as captain!

 

[babajee]

Welcome back bro.

Yep, massive credit goes to Sarfaraz for our turnaround in ODI and T20. People will bring up the 5-0 NZ loss but imo he did his job very well there. Not his fault that we were playing with Azhar, Hafeez and Malik so only had 8 men on the field.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

What a way to make your comeback

Sarfraz is defo not selfish.

 

[Bleedgreen4ever]

Sarfi is our best captain since IK and if someone disagrees with this then they are deluded

 

[Ali Imam]

I 100% agree with this post. One more person who's career was ruined was Misbah. Under Mohammad Yusuf's selfish captaincy, Misbah's peak years were flushed down the drain. I'm very thankful for Saifi bhai

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Welcome back bro.

Yep, massive credit goes to Sarfaraz for our turnaround in ODI and T20. People will bring up the 5-0 NZ loss but imo he did his job very well there. Not his fault that we were playing with Azhar, Hafeez and Malik so only had 8 men on the field.

Hey thanks bro
I just saw you mentioned me in quite a few posts, thanks for remembering. Sorry yar was quite busy and wont be active like before.

NZ series was a one off and hopefully a blessing in disguise in getting rid of Malik and Hafeez, all the other things are going smoothly. Hussain Talat, Faheem, Babar, Haris, Shadab etc. You remember na ?

 

[babajee]

Hey thanks bro
I just saw you mentioned me in quite a few posts, thanks for remembering. Sorry yar was quite busy and wont be active like before.

NZ series was a one off and hopefully a blessing in disguise in getting rid of Malik and Hafeez, all the other things are going smoothly. Hussain Talat, Faheem, Babar, Haris, Shadab etc. You remember na ?

Yeah I remember lol

Slowly we are heading in the right direction as a team, just a few more people need to go... These youngsters all have the potential to be world class.

 

[world cup captain]

I definitely like this about Sarfaraz. He seems to be very selfless and has shown it at various times. However, I would like him to bat at #4 unless situation requires a hitter.

 

[coy0607]

I think Sarfraz is selfless, but an even bigger strength is his intellect

He's contently thinking and always very alert. Either way, what he's done in the past year or two has been incredible

 

[Asch Ali]

We’ve said this time and time again. Shahid Afridi is no doubt, the most selfless player in the history of Pakistan cricket.

 

[Syed1]

Beautiful post



Saifi is a gem of a cricketer and captain for us. I don't know what we did to deserve someone like him. However, there are certain people who will never fully accept Sarfaraz or acknowledge his achievements just because he doesn't belong to a certain race and hails from a certain part of the country. That is the unfortunate reality.



The mark of every great captain is that they leave behind excellent cricketers to continue their legacy. IK had with Wasim, Waqar and Inzi. I think Sarfaraz already has folks like Fakhar, Hasan, Babar, Shadab and Talat (fingers crossed) to carry on after he hangs up his boots.


By the time he retires Sarfaraz will be widely accepted as our best ever captain since Imran Khan inshallah.

 

[babajee]

The mark of every great captain is that they leave behind excellent cricketers to continue their legacy. IK had with Wasim, Waqar and Inzi. I think Sarfaraz already has folks like Fakhar, Hasan, Babar, Shadab and Talat (fingers crossed) to carry on after he hangs up his boots.

Why do you always forget Faheem

 

[Syed1]

Why do you always forget Faheem

Rana jee is love, but all of those cricketers are at a higher peg than him. Sorry.

 

[waleed88]

Beautiful post



Saifi is a gem of a cricketer and captain for us. I don't know what we did to deserve someone like him. However, there are certain people who will never fully accept Sarfaraz or acknowledge his achievements just because he doesn't belong to a certain race and hails from a certain part of the country. That is the unfortunate reality.



The mark of every great captain is that they leave behind excellent cricketers to continue their legacy. IK had with Wasim, Waqar and Inzi. I think Sarfaraz already has folks like Fakhar, Hasan, Babar, Shadab and Talat (fingers crossed) to carry on after he hangs up his boots.


By the time he retires Sarfaraz will be widely accepted as our best ever captain since Imran Khan inshallah.

Thats true, Sarfraz and Mickey have completely revamped this team.

 

[moghul]

No I think Misbah was the most selfless player we ever had

 

[Sarfarazian92]

Azhar Ali also comes to mind

 

[fawad_wellwisher]

Asif Iqbal was the most selfless captain to ever play for Pakistan imo.

 

[Oligochaetes]

I agree and Shehzad is the most selfied player in Pakistan history

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Azhar Ali also comes to mind

He once took a review after edging the ball to first slip

 

[Sarfarazian92]

He once took a review after edging the ball to first slip

Hahahahahaha I have a pretty good memory. Yeh kab hua tha )

 

[Sarfarazian92]

Hahahahahaha I have a pretty good memory. Yeh kab hua tha )

Ok, I just remembered it and saw the video on Youtube to confirm.

What was he thinking ?

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Hahahahahaha I have a pretty good memory. Yeh kab hua tha )

the worst one was a while ago in 2014 in the Sharjah test vs Sri Lanka, im trying to find video but here is the commentary

In general Azhar has this tendency to take reviews no matter what if his spot is in question

Perera to Azhar Ali, OUT, there's his first Test wicket and Perera is chuffed! But Pakistan have other plans. Azhar Ali has gone for the review. It was very full and just outside off. Azhar was looking to drive through the covers but gets the edge straight trough to Mathews at slip. Just enough drift away to dupe the batsman.That's a wasted one and Pakistan have lost both their reviews

 

[ads101]

Thats true, Sarfraz and Mickey have completely revamped this team.

More Sarfraz than Mickey IMO. Mickey gets the team composition wrong regularly (e.g. not picking a second spinner against SL), slow to introduce youth/new players (people accredit him this, but takes a long time to introduce them even when they're in the squad. For example to him a long time to get in Fakhar and Haris). I struggle to attribute much to Mickey who also lost a lot with other captains like Misbah and Azhar even if we deem them worse captains.

Sarfraz on the other hand seems to get his field tactics spot on most times, and manages his bowlers well.

I don't think it's coincidence that Sarfraz does so well with Quetta even without Mickey (or many good players lol), while Mickey struggles with Karachi in the PSL.

I'm not sure selfless but obviously Sarfraz sees himself as captain first player second. And is accountable for wins and losses. No one really cares what his performance is if they win. Think Sarfraz wants to be the next Dhoni, who too preferred to leave himself down the pick up the pieces only when needed.

 

[waleed88]

More Sarfraz than Mickey IMO. Mickey gets the team composition wrong regularly (e.g. not picking a second spinner against SL), slow to introduce youth/new players (people accredit him this, but takes a long time to introduce them even when they're in the squad. For example to him a long time to get in Fakhar and Haris). I struggle to attribute much to Mickey who also lost a lot with other captains like Misbah and Azhar even if we deem them worse captains.

Sarfraz on the other hand seems to get his field tactics spot on most times, and manages his bowlers well.

I don't think it's coincidence that Sarfraz does so well with Quetta even without Mickey (or many good players lol), while Mickey struggles with Karachi in the PSL.

I'm not sure selfless but obviously Sarfraz sees himself as captain first player second. And is accountable for wins and losses. No one really cares what his performance is if they win. Think Sarfraz wants to be the next Dhoni, who too preferred to leave himself down the pick up the pieces only when needed.

Sarfraz is incompetent in terms of getting rid of his buddies like Ahmed Shehzad, or Wahab Riaz or Azhar/Hafeez which are seniors so he can't get rid of them as well. Mickey has come in there with an iron hand and not taken public pressure or media pressure of any player. Sarf cannot do that imo

 

[Markhor]

Apparently he gave his match fee for the 3rd T20 to the NSK groundstaff. If true, a classy gesture.

 

[shokz1408]

I'm not too sure about who's the most selfless. I might be wrong, but I don't think there's a backup keeper in the team. And, I think he would have some say in that?

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Apparently he gave his match fee for the 3rd T20 to the NSK groundstaff. If true, a classy gesture.

Hmm waisy to this thread was more on his on-field selflessness, but yeah he is one selfless guy in life outside cricket field too. There were reports that he donated his 10 Million Pak Rs money to Shaukat Khanum.

Sarfraz lives in a middle class area of buffer zone Karachi in a joint family, his family lives on 1st floor while his cousins (uncle's family) live on ground floor. Money is never a motive for Sarfraz as far as i know him.

 

[Hasan123]

Yes he is very selfless. He's done a good job as captain so far.

 

[babajee]

Some of us deserve losers like Ahmed Shehzad as captain.

 

[Syed1]

the worst one was a while ago in 2014 in the Sharjah test vs Sri Lanka, im trying to find video but here is the commentary

In general Azhar has this tendency to take reviews no matter what if his spot is in question

Imagine if Saifi had done that..... all of PP would have gone into a meltdown and there would be calls to issue arrest warrant for him.

 

[Poutine]

He did the same in PSL 1, there were plenty of situations where he could have come in and scored soft runs but he always ended up sending Nawaz up the order.

Compare that to someone like Tanvir, who would bat ahead of proper batsman like Hammad Azam when he was the captain of the Rawalpindi Rams.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

He did the same in PSL 1, there were plenty of situations where he could have come in and scored soft runs but he always ended up sending Nawaz up the order.

Compare that to someone like Tanvir, who would bat ahead of proper batsman like Hammad Azam when he was the captain of the Rawalpindi Rams.

Not only Tanvir, actually almost every other captain apart from Malik was hesitant/selfish in giving chances/a good run to youngsters. We will never become a top side like that.

I dont think there is much difference in talent and ability of youngsters who are playing now and those who played in last 15 years (infact popularity of cricket went down a little with emergence of tv channels showing football) but the way Sarfraz is developing youngsters with putting Pakistan cricket first is unparalleled. We will see the fruits once he retires.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Yeah I remember lol

Slowly we are heading in the right direction as a team, just a few more people need to go... These youngsters all have the potential to be world class.

Yeah team is shaping nicely for World Cup. Have made my mind to buy World Cup final plus India-Pak wc match ticket as soon as the tickets are out. Cant miss a once in a lifetime opportunity like that.

 

[babajee]

Yeah team is shaping nicely for World Cup. Have made my mind to buy World Cup final plus India-Pak wc match ticket as soon as the tickets are out. Cant miss a once in a lifetime opportunity like that.

The streak will be broken in 2019

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

The streak will be broken in 2019

IA Ameen

 

[Syed1]

Yeah team is shaping nicely for World Cup. Have made my mind to buy World Cup final plus India-Pak wc match ticket as soon as the tickets are out. Cant miss a once in a lifetime opportunity like that.

You got me motivated. Signed up for priority tickets after reading your post. I hope Pak and India are in same group and hope the match is on the weekend. Will fly across the pond, stay at B&B, watch the match and then fly back. Will probably set me back a 1000. All worth it.

 

[ataullah]

He is very selfless and puts country first. What i do know is he donates alot of his match fees and recites Quran abundantly in his spare time. Hes also hafiz e Quran. He will never sell his country like some others.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

You got me motivated. Signed up for priority tickets after reading your post. I hope Pak and India are in same group and hope the match is on the weekend. Will fly across the pond, stay at B&B, watch the match and then fly back. Will probably set me back a 1000. All worth it.

Wah yar great!
Hope to see you there

 

[Rahul1]

Welcome back bro.

Yep, massive credit goes to Sarfaraz for our turnaround in ODI and T20. People will bring up the 5-0 NZ loss but imo he did his job very well there. Not his fault that we were playing with Azhar, Hafeez and Malik so only had 8 men on the field.

So it is not captain's fault that azhar, hafeez and malik were playing?

 

[babajee]

You got me motivated. Signed up for priority tickets after reading your post. I hope Pak and India are in same group and hope the match is on the weekend. Will fly across the pond, stay at B&B, watch the match and then fly back. Will probably set me back a 1000. All worth it.

Wait where did you do this

 

[babajee]

So it is not captain's fault that azhar, hafeez and malik were playing?

It would have been if Inzi gave him options in the squad... there were no alternatives.

 

[Asch Ali]

A tribute to captain Sarfaraz Ahmed [Short Poem]

The man of the land,
Of the many Khan.
Who could ever thought
that this gent could’ve brought
many thrills to us all.
From the time
yesteryear plus one,
a-witnessed had we become.
‘Twas he cometh at rescue
At the hour it dearly due.
He bringeth miserly
to the Saffers then the Celts.
Long forgotten then,
where those two brethren:
Akmal, their names.
Least we say,
Better the day.
Now the man of the land,
skipper his hands,
which direct
absolute wreck
to whomever he is let.
Britons and Indians amongst those,
who got his dose.
A dose so powerful,
they wish not play
for hundreds of days.

 

[Rayyman]

Beauty

 

[Asch Ali]

Beauty

Sarfraz Ahmed is one of the best cricketers Pakistan has produced. He deserves many chants and many poems. If we go on to win the Second Test against England, it would be such a amazing thing. I will write a much higher quality and longer chant.

 

[gazza619]

No matter what the situation is in the match. Whether you need to play defensive or aggressive, Sarfaraz has no business coming in to bat ahead of Haris Sohail. Hope Mickey and him are reading this.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

No matter what the situation is in the match. Whether you need to play defensive or aggressive, Sarfaraz has no business coming in to bat ahead of Haris Sohail. Hope Mickey and him are reading this.

Its a useless T20, relax.

 

[gazza619]

Its a useless T20, relax.

Have seen him promoting himself in ODIs too ahead of proper batsmen.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Have seen him promoting himself in ODIs too ahead of proper batsmen.

Before captaincy? If so then he wasn't the one who decided it.
If after then that just shows he wants to lead from the front.

 

[Hasan123]

He doesn’t lead from the front. I wouldn’t say he is selfish but I do not agree that he is a selfless cricketer.

 

[FastBowlingAllrounder]

He doesn’t lead from the front. I wouldn’t say he is selfish but I do not agree that he is a selfless cricketer.

He used to be selfless, now he is in the grey area in between.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

I remember Inzamam, Yusuf, and (to an extent) Misbah starting going down the order later in their careers. Looked like they were giving youngsters chances up the order, while ready to rescue the ship if things went sideways. But really they were hiding from new, moving ball, while sacrificing youngsters.

Sarfaraz seems to be in a slightly different mould, even accounting for his horrendous century go-slow against South Africa.

He knows he can't do big hits and is not reliable with the bat up the order either.

So all I can see is him hiding himself in the batting order for as long as he can - until he has to come out.

What he needs to do is be more self aware. Know his limitations deeply, find himself a role accordingly and stick to it. It will give more certainty to the batting order.

And also work on players around him play more for the team than selfish milestones that do not lead to victory.

 

[KyoOne]

Came in at no 6, when he could have come in at no 3/4 against club level bowlers. Not selfish per se

 

[topspin]

He doesn’t lead from the front. I wouldn’t say he is selfish but I do not agree that he is a selfless cricketer.

He's actually selfish and the one of the main reasons is because he's always been insecure about having a back up keeper in the squad.

The insecurity shows the lack of confidence with his cricket but because he's selfish he doesn't want Rizwan to be anywhere near him in the squad.

Rizwan should consider himself very unlucky to miss out, at the expense of Sarfraz because has he done more in a few recent matches (this year) than what Sarfraz has done in the last two years. There is no doubt he is the better batsman. If he was given a long rope, imagine where he would be today.

Only in Pakistan can a sub-standard cricketer who also carries himself so poorly (on and off the field) can captain the side.

He doesn't deserve to be part of this squad.

 

[nam]

He's actually selfish and the one of the main reasons is because he's always been insecure about having a back up keeper in the squad.

The insecurity shows the lack of confidence with his cricket but because he's selfish he doesn't want Rizwan to be anywhere near him in the squad.

Rizwan should consider himself very unlucky to miss out, at the expense of Sarfraz because has he done more in a few recent matches (this year) than what Sarfraz has done in the last two years. There is no doubt he is the better batsman. If he was given a long rope, imagine where he would be today.

Only in Pakistan can a sub-standard cricketer who also carries himself so poorly (on and off the field) can captain the side.

He doesn't deserve to be part of this squad.

Rizwan is not a better keeper than Sarfraz and no we don't need a backup keeper (as inzimam said we will try to keep Sarfraz warm and make sure he doesn't catch cold)
who you think can lead the side in the Worldcup other than Sarfraz? We all saw what Malik did in Australia series.
At least give solutions rather than pointing out problems. We don't have Gilchrists or Dhonis up our sleeves in our domestic circuit to replace Sarfraz.

 

[Chokli]

I remember Inzamam, Yusuf, and (to an extent) Misbah starting going down the order later in their careers. But really they were hiding from new, moving ball, while sacrificing youngsters.

This is true, I remember those days.

 

[Hasan123]

He used to be selfless, now he is in the grey area in between.

Batting below tail enders is coward like behaviour.

 

[Hasan123]

He's actually selfish and the one of the main reasons is because he's always been insecure about having a back up keeper in the squad.

The insecurity shows the lack of confidence with his cricket but because he's selfish he doesn't want Rizwan to be anywhere near him in the squad.

Rizwan should consider himself very unlucky to miss out, at the expense of Sarfraz because has he done more in a few recent matches (this year) than what Sarfraz has done in the last two years. There is no doubt he is the better batsman. If he was given a long rope, imagine where he would be today.

Only in Pakistan can a sub-standard cricketer who also carries himself so poorly (on and off the field) can captain the side.

He doesn't deserve to be part of this squad.

I think it's Inzis choice not to have a back up to be fair.

Rizwan is unlucky not to be in the WC squad but whilst Sarfraz is captain he won't be dropped.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Sarfraz is a great brain. I don't care anymore what he does with the bat. There is simply no other alternative.

 

[topspin]

Rizwan is not a better keeper than Sarfraz and no we don't need a backup keeper (as inzimam said we will try to keep Sarfraz warm and make sure he doesn't catch cold)
who you think can lead the side in the Worldcup other than Sarfraz? We all saw what Malik did in Australia series.
At least give solutions rather than pointing out problems. We don't have Gilchrists or Dhonis up our sleeves in our domestic circuit to replace Sarfraz.

I think their keeping ability is very similar and if Rizwan was given regular chances (say for e.g. in dead rubbers or low ranked sides) in the last two years he would be well ahead with the gloves, as he already is with the bat despite being only given a handful chances. To reinforce this point, I can tell you for a fact I've never seen Sarfraz keep as well as what we saw from Rizwan during the side's last ODI series in Australia.

As for your question about who can lead the side better than Sarfraz - you conveniently ignored Imad Wasim, who has displayed far better leadership skills and captaincy overall. Unlike Sarfraz, he leads by example with not only how he carries himself but also with the way he plays. He's perhaps the most selfless cricketer in the side and has been brilliant lower down the order with the bat.

There is no doubt in my mind, that you're just a biased blind follower. Don't bring up overused and recycled jibberish like "We don't have Gilchrists or Dhonis up our sleeves in our domestic circuit to replace Sarfraz".

Pakistan fans who sincerely care about the fortunes of their side just want the best captain! (who can at least lead from the front and carry himself well on and off the field) and at this moment in time it is clearly Imad Wasim.

Best wicket keeper batsman is Rizwan. As for glove work they're very similar in ability, so Sarfraz falls well short here and should really be no where near the XI.

 

[topspin]

I think it's Inzis choice not to have a back up to be fair.

Rizwan is unlucky not to be in the WC squad but whilst Sarfraz is captain he won't be dropped.

I find that hard to believe because this has been going on for the last 2 years (since Sarfraz's commencement as Pakistan ODI captain).

From previous teams Pakistan never had a one wicket keeper policy, so it's not as if this is tradition or anything of the sort. If we cast our mind back to the 2015 WC, there were two keepers: Sarfraz and Umar Akmal (kept the first couple of games).

 

[nam]

I think their keeping ability is very similar and if Rizwan was given regular chances (say for e.g. in dead rubbers or low ranked sides) in the last two years he would be well ahead with the gloves, as he already is with the bat despite being only given a handful chances. To reinforce this point, I can tell you for a fact I've never seen Sarfraz keep as well as what we saw from Rizwan during the side's last ODI series in Australia.

As for your question about who can lead the side better than Sarfraz - you conveniently ignored Imad Wasim, who has displayed far better leadership skills and captaincy overall. Unlike Sarfraz, he leads by example with not only how he carries himself but also with the way he plays. He's perhaps the most selfless cricketer in the side and has been brilliant lower down the order with the bat.

There is no doubt in my mind, that you're just a biased blind follower. Don't bring up overused and recycled jibberish like "We don't have Gilchrists or Dhonis up our sleeves in our domestic circuit to replace Sarfraz".

Pakistan fans who sincerely care about the fortunes of their side just want the best captain! (who can at least lead from the front and carry himself well on and off the field) and at this moment in time it is clearly Imad Wasim.

Best wicket keeper batsman is Rizwan. As for glove work they're very similar in ability, so Sarfraz falls well short here and should really be no where near the XI.

I disagree with your statement that Rizwan is a better gloveman than Sarfraz. Experts agree with me on this one as well.

Besides Rizwan is a terrible runner between the wickets as some of his run outs have been hillarious. he is much better athlete clearly but is not a good judger of runs.

And Imad absolutely is not superior than Sarfraz in leading skills. Sarfraz has lead Pakistan to U16 and Champions Trophy and his side is always competitive in PSL and has 1 winner and 1 runners up already.

Both Sarfraz and Imad need to work on their fitness.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Probably one of the most selfish actually. Blames others for failures, doesn't come up the order and in fact puts bowlers ahead of himself.

One of the worst captains I can ever remember.

Those who constantly say well he keeps, there are better keepers in Pakistan, and his so called "mind" is so great that we constantly get whitewashed left and right in all formats of the game.

Let's analyze our "selfless" captain in all formats of the game:

Test- So our great captain had a purple patch in the years 2014 and 2015, a purple patch which made me myself quite impressed with him. He would score fast centuries under Misbah, and put his name on the map.

Then due to his great performances, and the thought that he was humble and his mind was sharp, the captaincy was given to him. It was a new era of Pakistan cricket, and we had a good leader. 2016 though, the numbers start to dip, right before he is given captaincy, and it is the beginning of mediocrity.



Now, 2017 comes, Misbah is gone, and the reigns are all his. He had a dip in performances as we see in 2016, but it is okay, everyone has a little dip sometimes. Captaincy should help? Nope.



His first test, oh so interesting, a we lost by 21 runs. Well after our token batting collapse, our captain, who had two years in the 60s, was stumped, not caught, bowled, no, stumped. I do not blame him solely for this loss, but remember, we scored 400+ innings. What was his contribution...



Lost his first test series as captain on their home ground. Okay, let's give him some leeway, he is starting new, and one fifty in his first four innings as captain, let us forgive that.

2018 somehow though as we see from above led to an even worse batsmen.

We start with the Ireland test that we scrapingly defeated. Our captain, in a long line of to come failures with the bat, can now focus on the keeping which is what his focus is. What comes of that though? In the second innings, we get this:

Mohammad Amir to Joyce, no run, dropped? Nicked for certain, but did it carry? Full just outside off, but the ball shapes away slightly, and takes the outside edge. Drops in front of first slip, but definitely a chance for the keeper, because he stands slightly forward. Nervy start

Rahat Ali to Thompson, no run, edged, and just short of the diving keeper! A regulation nick to a lifter on off stump, but it was always heading down, so Sarfraz ended up sprawling at first slip's feet... EDIT: I think that did carry actually. A tough chance but a drop all the same

Routine chances, dropped.

Now all of 2018:



2 half centuries, well done against Australia, but as captain now, that is 11 test matches in a row as captain, and three half centuries. This is below even poor for a keeper captain. Do we act as though Dhoni was not an all time great with the bat?

Okay, let's skip tests, despite the fact with Misbah we were still fairly respectable at the very least in UAE, and sure we can say Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq being collosal failures had a big hand to play, are we to just let the captain off saying that he is not a batsmen but a keeper and should not get blame that he also had a bat in hand?

Let's step away from tests, and focus on the loved part of cricket, ODI's.

Sarfraz returned after an in and out career, when the Akmal time was over, and he had a resurgent worldcup. Came in as an opener and it was this excitement. Let's look at the numbers since his return..



Azhar Ali was named captain and a colossal failure so Sarfraz was put in place and 2016 looked fairly good. Let's ignore we lost every match against good teams except on very good performance for Sarfraz giving him MOM against England and say good batting year, and 2017 as well a good yer because we won the CT and he did decent with a 38 average in only a few matches as he was not very necessary.

2018-2019, we can see the numbers, and then we see these types of scorecards:







So Sarfraz thinks he is not a power hitter, puts in others, okay fine, he thinks Shadab or Hasan Ali have more power to pinch hit, then let them play, but then the innings is a disaster and you need an anchor and you put full time bowlers above you? What is that strategy exactly?

I won't get into T20 because it is not a true serious format of the game.

Sarfraz came into the team through hard work, and now we can clearly see all that matters is himself and his perception to keep his spot. A CT win does not give him a life time get out of jail for free card, especially when he did not really do much in terms of production.

We cannot constantly say well he is a keeper, his job is not to score runs, when most teams have their keeper as key run producers.

Those who say we do not have better, I am sure we can find a better bat as we have seen from Rizwan, and if we again say batting is irrelevant, there are in fact better keepers in Pakistan.

We aren't winning series after series either, we are getting whitewashed, so why so much protection for Sarfraz will always confuse me.

You are always a batsmen or a bowler before anything else, and if you cannot do either of these things at a world class level, you do not belong.

Captaincy is important, but more important is production with either ball or bat, and that should be the first thing we look at when selecting, not ability to lead, and the irony of having such a great leader, when said leader only leads us to failure is a marvel.

 

[aukhan]

Selfish? Thats what he is.

He never takes responsibilities and blame others for team failure.

 

[Pete Rose]

What the hell is a selfless player?
I mean can you ever imagine that in real life in any profession?
this is nonsense.

 

[topspin]

I disagree with your statement that Rizwan is a better gloveman than Sarfraz. Experts agree with me on this one as well.

Besides Rizwan is a terrible runner between the wickets as some of his run outs have been hillarious. he is much better athlete clearly but is not a good judger of runs.

And Imad absolutely is not superior than Sarfraz in leading skills. Sarfraz has lead Pakistan to U16 and Champions Trophy and his side is always competitive in PSL and has 1 winner and 1 runners up already.

Both Sarfraz and Imad need to work on their fitness.

Comprehension issues as well yeah?

Can you tell me where I mentioned Sarfraz > RIzwan with the gloves? I made it very clear they're of similar ability and since I'm undecided, I've not made any conclusions as to who's superior behind the wickets.

I didn't expect your argument in re: leadership skills to be so weak. Telling me Sarfraz is the greater leader on the basis of his captaincy experience (since youth level)? Look he's better than Misbah, but that's not saying a lot because that's hardly an achievement. As for the reasons explained in my previous post Imad is the better leader.

Agreed on their fitness levels but Sarfraz looks in worse shape without a doubt.

 

[srh]

more near to selfish than selfless

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Probably one of the most selfish actually. Blames others for failures, doesn't come up the order and in fact puts bowlers ahead of himself.

One of the worst captains I can ever remember.

Those who constantly say well he keeps, there are better keepers in Pakistan, and his so called "mind" is so great that we constantly get whitewashed left and right in all formats of the game.

Let's analyze our "selfless" captain in all formats of the game:

Test- So our great captain had a purple patch in the years 2014 and 2015, a purple patch which made me myself quite impressed with him. He would score fast centuries under Misbah, and put his name on the map.

Then due to his great performances, and the thought that he was humble and his mind was sharp, the captaincy was given to him. It was a new era of Pakistan cricket, and we had a good leader. 2016 though, the numbers start to dip, right before he is given captaincy, and it is the beginning of mediocrity.

View attachment 90951

Now, 2017 comes, Misbah is gone, and the reigns are all his. He had a dip in performances as we see in 2016, but it is okay, everyone has a little dip sometimes. Captaincy should help? Nope.

View attachment 90952

His first test, oh so interesting, a we lost by 21 runs. Well after our token batting collapse, our captain, who had two years in the 60s, was stumped, not caught, bowled, no, stumped. I do not blame him solely for this loss, but remember, we scored 400+ innings. What was his contribution...

View attachment 90953

Lost his first test series as captain on their home ground. Okay, let's give him some leeway, he is starting new, and one fifty in his first four innings as captain, let us forgive that.

2018 somehow though as we see from above led to an even worse batsmen.

We start with the Ireland test that we scrapingly defeated. Our captain, in a long line of to come failures with the bat, can now focus on the keeping which is what his focus is. What comes of that though? In the second innings, we get this:





Routine chances, dropped.

Now all of 2018:

View attachment 90954

2 half centuries, well done against Australia, but as captain now, that is 11 test matches in a row as captain, and three half centuries. This is below even poor for a keeper captain. Do we act as though Dhoni was not an all time great with the bat?

Okay, let's skip tests, despite the fact with Misbah we were still fairly respectable at the very least in UAE, and sure we can say Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq being collosal failures had a big hand to play, are we to just let the captain off saying that he is not a batsmen but a keeper and should not get blame that he also had a bat in hand?

Let's step away from tests, and focus on the loved part of cricket, ODI's.

Sarfraz returned after an in and out career, when the Akmal time was over, and he had a resurgent worldcup. Came in as an opener and it was this excitement. Let's look at the numbers since his return..

View attachment 90955

Azhar Ali was named captain and a colossal failure so Sarfraz was put in place and 2016 looked fairly good. Let's ignore we lost every match against good teams except on very good performance for Sarfraz giving him MOM against England and say good batting year, and 2017 as well a good yer because we won the CT and he did decent with a 38 average in only a few matches as he was not very necessary.

2018-2019, we can see the numbers, and then we see these types of scorecards:

View attachment 90956

View attachment 90958

View attachment 90959

So Sarfraz thinks he is not a power hitter, puts in others, okay fine, he thinks Shadab or Hasan Ali have more power to pinch hit, then let them play, but then the innings is a disaster and you need an anchor and you put full time bowlers above you? What is that strategy exactly?

I won't get into T20 because it is not a true serious format of the game.

Sarfraz came into the team through hard work, and now we can clearly see all that matters is himself and his perception to keep his spot. A CT win does not give him a life time get out of jail for free card, especially when he did not really do much in terms of production.

We cannot constantly say well he is a keeper, his job is not to score runs, when most teams have their keeper as key run producers.

Those who say we do not have better, I am sure we can find a better bat as we have seen from Rizwan, and if we again say batting is irrelevant, there are in fact better keepers in Pakistan.

We aren't winning series after series either, we are getting whitewashed, so why so much protection for Sarfraz will always confuse me.

You are always a batsmen or a bowler before anything else, and if you cannot do either of these things at a world class level, you do not belong.

Captaincy is important, but more important is production with either ball or bat, and that should be the first thing we look at when selecting, not ability to lead, and the irony of having such a great leader, when said leader only leads us to failure is a marvel.

So you are bringing up his captaincy records to prove he is "selfish". Lmao
21 topun ki salami to your fazool logic.

In this way i can say the joy Sarfraz bring to the Pakistani nation by winning CT and final against India is unparalleled and make him selfless? That would be an equally absurd logic lol.

And when bringing the records you completely forgot that he was given a no 8th team in odis (and now we are no 6th), no 6th in tests (and now we are no 7th), and no 7th in t20s (and now we are no 1). So its not like we were given a team of world beaters to start with.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

No matter what the situation is in the match. Whether you need to play defensive or aggressive, Sarfaraz has no business coming in to bat ahead of Haris Sohail.

Not only Sarfraz but Hasan Ali also batted above Haris Sohail. Haris doesn't play t20s for Pakistan and is not a regular. And It was a domestic t20 match. You may call the decision wrong but how does it make him selfish? I dont see your point.

Also in the same match which you are talking about Asif Ali, Imad Wasim and Faheem Ashraf all batted above Sarfraz, how does it make him selfish?

 

[nam]

Comprehension issues as well yeah?

Can you tell me where I mentioned Sarfraz > RIzwan with the gloves? I made it very clear they're of similar ability and since I'm undecided, I've not made any conclusions as to who's superior behind the wickets.

I didn't expect your argument in re: leadership skills to be so weak. Telling me Sarfraz is the greater leader on the basis of his captaincy experience (since youth level)? Look he's better than Misbah, but that's not saying a lot because that's hardly an achievement. As for the reasons explained in my previous post Imad is the better leader.

Agreed on their fitness levels but Sarfraz looks in worse shape without a doubt.

What leadership skills have Imad shown that makes you think he is the best leader of the team?
I already mentioned Sarfraz leadership achievements at the highest level which is proof enough for me that he is the best one to lead our side. Besides selectors agree with me as well so he is our captain and i will support him for this campaign.

 

[W63L35]

Probably one of the most selfish actually. Blames others for failures, doesn't come up the order and in fact puts bowlers ahead of himself.

One of the worst captains I can ever remember.

Those who constantly say well he keeps, there are better keepers in Pakistan, and his so called "mind" is so great that we constantly get whitewashed left and right in all formats of the game.

Let's analyze our "selfless" captain in all formats of the game:

Test- So our great captain had a purple patch in the years 2014 and 2015, a purple patch which made me myself quite impressed with him. He would score fast centuries under Misbah, and put his name on the map.

Sarfraz came into the team through hard work, and now we can clearly see all that matters is himself and his perception to keep his spot. A CT win does not give him a life time get out of jail for free card, especially when he did not really do much in terms of production.

We cannot constantly say well he is a keeper, his job is not to score runs, when most teams have their keeper as key run producers.

Those who say we do not have better, I am sure we can find a better bat as we have seen from Rizwan, and if we again say batting is irrelevant, there are in fact better keepers in Pakistan.

We aren't winning series after series either, we are getting whitewashed, so why so much protection for Sarfraz will always confuse me.

You are always a batsmen or a bowler before anything else, and if you cannot do either of these things at a world class level, you do not belong.

Captaincy is important, but more important is production with either ball or bat, and that should be the first thing we look at when selecting, not ability to lead, and the irony of having such a great leader, when said leader only leads us to failure is a marvel.

How is the dip in performance related to be selfish or being selfless?

I won't get into T20 because it is not a true serious format of the game.

T20 cricket may not be true serious form of the cricket but that is the most crowd pulling format. This is exactly what was said about ODI cricket in 1970s when it came, but now even people like you consider it serious form.

But getting back to Sarfraz..... may be this why you did not post Safraz's T20 stats as captaincy?

 

[Chokli]

How is the dip in performance related to be selfish or being selfless?



T20 cricket may not be true serious form of the cricket but that is the most crowd pulling format. This is exactly what was said about ODI cricket in 1970s when it came, but now even people like you consider it serious form.

But getting back to Sarfraz..... may be this why you did not post Safraz's T20 stats as captaincy?

View attachment 90995

Sarfraz has done well in T20s, can't argue with that.

 

[Hasan123]

He is a rubbish player. Only in Pakistan do we care so much about being selfless. In other countries playing for the team is a given. This forum also confuses selfishness for lack of ability.

 

[W63L35]

[MENTION=139505]Ilan Bluestone[/MENTION]

All Keepers in T20s - with 20 or more T20 matches.... by S/R and by Average.


Sorted by S/R;




Sorted By Average;

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Only Pakistanis try to bolster the importance of T20s and it is a hilarious way to deflect the mediocrity.

With regard to selfish, he bats down the order and blames others for failures, but gives himself credit for success. That's literally the definition of selfish
[MENTION=2344]W63L35[/MENTION]
[MENTION=143023]SarfiBabarHaris[/MENTION]

 

[W63L35]

Only Pakistanis try to bolster the importance of T20s and it is a hilarious way to deflect the mediocrity.

"I think IPL is better than the World Cup" : AB de Villiers

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...better-than-the-World-Cup-quot-AB-de-Villiers


Last time I checked, AB de Villiers is not a Pakistani and IPL was not played in Pakistan either.

With regard to selfish, he bats down the order and blames others for failures, but gives himself credit for success. That's literally the definition of selfish

[MENTION=2344]W63L35[/MENTION]

So all keepers who bat down the order are selfish?

Can you post a video when he has give credit of team's success to himself?

 

[MRSN]

He is really a selfless cricketer. He gives chances even to tailenders to bat above him against big teams when he gossips with his buddies in media about management not allowing him to play at 4 but to be fair to him he does try to to lead from front when we face Zimbabwe or Leicestershire.

 

[MRSN]

[MENTION=139505]Ilan Bluestone[/MENTION]

All Keepers in T20s - with 20 or more T20 matches.... by S/R and by Average.


Sorted by S/R;

View attachment 90996


Sorted By Average;

View attachment 90997

This is amazing how stats can lie.

 

[MRSN]

He is a rubbish player. Only in Pakistan do we care so much about being selfless. In other countries playing for the team is a given. This forum also confuses selfishness for lack of ability.

Sarfraz is about to run out of excuses and will be exposed in this world cup just like Misbah got exposed in the last world cup. Pakistan cricket is stuck in medieval ages because we are too afraid to make necessary changes and remove liabilities. Sarfraz is a liability and even selectors know it which is why they forced him to rest in the Aus series to give Rizwan a full chance which he took with both hands and shown how much he is better than Sarfraz.

Misbah was also a big liability both with his tactics as well as his performance but he managed to play the world cup and we know what happened in that cup. It was nothing else but a farewell event to our legends Misbah and YK and Afridi. This time it's going to be the same. Pakistan should have made tough changes months ago but now we will see how presisting with mediocrity rewards in big tournament like this.

 

[W63L35]

This is amazing how stats can lie.

Only because we can't prove them wrong!

 

[Hasan123]

Sarfraz is about to run out of excuses and will be exposed in this world cup just like Misbah got exposed in the last world cup. Pakistan cricket is stuck in medieval ages because we are too afraid to make necessary changes and remove liabilities. Sarfraz is a liability and even selectors know it which is why they forced him to rest in the Aus series to give Rizwan a full chance which he took with both hands and shown how much he is better than Sarfraz.

Misbah was also a big liability both with his tactics as well as his performance but he managed to play the world cup and we know what happened in that cup. It was nothing else but a farewell event to our legends Misbah and YK and Afridi. This time it's going to be the same. Pakistan should have made tough changes months ago but now we will see how presisting with mediocrity rewards in big tournament like this.

But at least Misbah till his last day made the team on merit. He helped us win games against Zimbabwe and South Africa. You really expect Sarfraz to do that ?