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"It won't be a problem adjusting back into the team under someone else’s captaincy" : Sarfaraz Ahmed

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"It won't be a problem adjusting back into the team under someone else’s captaincy" : Sarfaraz Ahmed

PCB let us take the final call on travelling to England, says comeback man Sarfaraz

Karachi, Jun 13 (PTI) Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who has made a surprise comeback nearly eight months after his ouster, has said that the PCB left it to the players to make the final call on travelling to England for the Test and T20 series.

"PCB CEO, Wasim Khan spoke individually to each player and made it clear that if we had any reservations about going to England in the Covid-19 situation we should let him know without any fear.

"He left the final call to us and obviously all of us must have spoken to our families before deciding to go," he said in a media interaction on Saturday.

Batsman Haris Sohail is the only player to have pulled out of the tour because his family was not comfortable about him touring England in the existing scenario.

Left arm pacer Muhammad Aamir also had to pull out due to the expected birth of his second child in August and with travelling restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic, he was unable to make the squad for the T20 matches because of the SOPs for the series.

Asked about his comeback to the national squad after being removed as captain and player from the national team in all three formats, Sarfaraz said it was a learning process for him.

"Obviously it is difficult to make a comeback after you have once been a regular member of the team and then dropped.

"But I think the good thing is soon after I was dropped I got busy playing in domestic cricket and then the Pakistan Super League and that helped me a lot keep my focus on cricket and not let negativity enter my mind,” he said.

To a question, Sarfaraz said he might have made some mistakes as captain and he was disappointed but insisted he never thought about leaving the game after the way he was dropped from the team.

"I will try to not repeat the same mistakes and the good thing is as captain I was never arrogant or thought myself as different from the other players in the team.

"We have all shared the same dressing room and we all know each other well so it wouldn’t be a problem adjusting back into the team under someone else’s captaincy,” he said.

He admitted that being captain meant that he had to take pressure and he couldn’t think much about his own game and was always thinking about the other players, their performances and the results.

"Now as a player I think I can give more time and focus on my own game and try to play my part in helping the team get good results."

He also said the period he was out of the team, he received a lot of support.

"I realised that one has to come across such ups and downs in one’s career and it is part of life. The break has allowed me to relax and also work a lot more on my fitness," he said.

Sarfaraz insisted that he had no issues with Muhammad Rizwan now being the number one wicketkeeper in the team and he being the second choice.

"In the 90s also there was a lot of competition between Moin Khan and Rashid Latif and in periods whoever was number one got preference. If I get a chance to play again in England I am prepared and will try to give my best."

He also described the coaching staff of Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed as the strongest coaching team he had ever seen with the national side.

"It is the best coaching staff given their combined experience and I think it will help the players a lot in England on such a long tour. It is a good opportunity for players and they should take advantage of the experience of the coaches." PTI COR ** **

https://www.outlookindia.com/newssc...to-england-says-comeback-man-sarfaraz/1865122

‘I wish to score 200 in Test cricket’ Sarfaraz Ahmed

Karachi: Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has revealed his wish after making comeback in the team after eight months.

The wicket-keeper batsman while talking to reporters via teleconference said his wish is to score a double-century in Test cricket.

“Every batsman wishes to achieve this landmark as it is considered to be a lifetime achievement. I have scored in domestic cricket but unfortunately, I haven’t scored in international cricket but now if there is any chance of scoring, so I will definitely go for it,” Sarfaraz said.

“On previous England tours, I didn’t score a fifty and got dismissed in the 40s but if I will get the chance so I will bat long me and the team,” he added.

The 33-year-old feels no competition with Mohammad Rizwan, who is Pakistan’s preferred wicket-keeper in recent times and gave the example of country’s greatest wicket-keepers Moin Khan and Rashid Latif.

“We all know, in the past tours of England. Both Rashid and Moin got to play and there was no first and second option. Rizwan is obviously doing well for the team and I will also be there with the team,” he added.

Sarfaraz stated that after getting dropped from the side, he tried to work on his fitness and went on to play domestic cricket to improve his form.

“I went to Faislabad to play domestic cricket then I played in National T20 cup and Pakistan Super League. So, I tried to stay focused there,” he added.

He also shared his thoughts as a former skipper on the squad combination for the upcoming tour of England.

“We have been doing good in Test cricket lately as we won against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Fast bowlers are impressive in our squad which will benefit us in England. Our record has been great there in the Test format and hopefully, we will do well as an away team,” he maintained.

It must be noted that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a 29-player squad for three Tests and three T20Is against England. The Pakistan team will leave for ‘bio-secure’ England tour on June 28 via a chartered plane.

Sarfaraz and pacer Sohail Khan have made a comeback while emerging batsman Haider Ali has received his maiden call-up. Sarfaraz was dropped from the side last year in October and was also sacked from the captaincy role.

https://arysports.tv/wish-score-200-in-test-sarfaraz-ahmed/
 
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I have no issues with Sarfaraz playing in the Pakistan side but that must be based upon recent performances and not on some 1-2 good ones in the past.
 
PCB selected him to pacify ex cricketers and the media mafia who would be playing the Karachi vs Lahore card. Sarfaraz did zilch to merit a recall and I think its better for the PCB to look at other options for the future
 
Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who has made a surprise comeback nearly eight months after his ouster, has said that the PCB left it to the players to make the final call on travelling to England for the Test and T20 series.

“PCB CEO, Wasim Khan spoke individually to each player and made it clear that if we had any reservations about going to England in the Covid-19 situation we should let him know without any fear.

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“He left the final call to us and obviously all of us must have spoken to our families before deciding to go,” he said in a media interaction on Saturday.

Batsman Haris Sohail is the only player to have pulled out of the tour because his family was not comfortable about him touring England in the existing scenario.

Left-arm pacer Mohammad Aamir also had to pull out due to the expected birth of his second child in August and with travelling restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic, he was unable to make the squad for the T20 matches because of the SOPs for the series.

Making comeback

Asked about his comeback to the national squad after being removed as captain and player from the national team in all three formats, Sarfaraz said it was a learning process for him.

“Obviously it is difficult to make a comeback after you have once been a regular member of the team and then dropped.

“But I think the good thing is soon after I was dropped I got busy playing in domestic cricket and then the Pakistan Super League and that helped me a lot to keep my focus on cricket and not let negativity enter my mind," he said.

Shahid Afridi tests positive for COVID-19

When asked about his captaincy, Sarfaraz said he might have made some mistakes and he was disappointed but insisted he never thought about leaving the game after the way he was dropped from the team.

“I will try not to repeat the same mistakes and the good thing is as captain I was never arrogant or thought myself as different from the other players in the team.

“We have all shared the same dressing room and we all know each other well so it wouldn’t be a problem adjusting back into the team under someone else’s captaincy," he said.

He admitted that being captain meant that he had to take pressure and he couldn’t think much about his own game and was always thinking about the other players, their performances and the results.

“Now as a player I think I can give more time and focus on my own game and try to play my part in helping the team get good results.”

He also said the period he was out of the team, he received a lot of support.

“I realised that one has to come across such ups and downs in one’s career and it is part of life. The break has allowed me to relax and also work a lot more on my fitness,” he said.

Sarfaraz insisted that he had no issues with Muhammad Rizwan now being the number one wicketkeeper in the team and he being the second choice.

“In the 90s also there was a lot of competition between Moin Khan and Rashid Latif and in periods whoever was number one got preference. If I get a chance to play again in England I am prepared and will try to give my best.”

He also described the coaching staff of Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed as the strongest coaching team he had ever seen with the national side.

“It is the best coaching staff given their combined experience and I think it will help the players a lot in England on such a long tour. It is a good opportunity for players and they should take advantage of the experience of the coaches,” he said.

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/cric...vid-19-pcb-sarfaraz-ahmed/article31821083.ece
 
sarfraz is useless garbage I can't believe he made the squad.Misbah the useless is turning out be the worst chief selector of all time.
 
I have no issues with Sarfaraz playing in the Pakistan side but that must be based upon recent performances and not on some 1-2 good ones in the past.

Thats the hidden blessing of this virus, no one has recent performances.
 
PCB selected him to pacify ex cricketers and the media mafia who would be playing the Karachi vs Lahore card. Sarfaraz did zilch to merit a recall and I think its better for the PCB to look at other options for the future

Perhaps that's a factor, but the primary reason for his selection is that in the current circumstances the PCB has to select a squad with all bases covered as they cannot fly in any replacements. Sarfraz is the only half-decent gloveman in the country apart from Rizwan, as both Rohail Nazir and Zeeshan Ashraf aren't all that great behind the stumps.
 
sarfraz is useless garbage I can't believe he made the squad.Misbah the useless is turning out be the worst chief selector of all time.

There are some terrible selections in the squad for sure, but I don't see how Sarfraz is one of them. In a tour where replacements cannot be flown in, a second keeper has to be a part of the squad. The only real options were Sarfraz or Rohail Nazir, who quite frankly, is not ready for international cricket yet.
 
There are some terrible selections in the squad for sure, but I don't see how Sarfraz is one of them. In a tour where replacements cannot be flown in, a second keeper has to be a part of the squad. The only real options were Sarfraz or Rohail Nazir, who quite frankly, is not ready for international cricket yet.

I agree with you rohail hasnt played any tests matches as a keeper so would have been a risk sarfraz stil decent enough
 
PCB selected him to pacify ex cricketers and the media mafia who would be playing the Karachi vs Lahore card. Sarfaraz did zilch to merit a recall and I think its better for the PCB to look at other options for the future

We have no other options in tests rohail hasnt played tests as a keeper
 
Read some of quotes from the interview and he spoke sensibly. It's good to have a back up keeper on tour. Will never understand during Sarfraz captaincy sting there was no back up keeper for most tours.
 
a back up wicket keeper who averages 35 with the bat and was pretty tidy behind the stumps before he was dropped is very good.

theres no logical reason to be unhappy with his selection.
 
a back up wicket keeper who averages 35 with the bat and was pretty tidy behind the stumps before he was dropped is very good.

theres no logical reason to be unhappy with his selection.

100 percent
 
Sarfaraz's ouster was a bit shady from the outset in the side, however it has been a history in our cricket to actually remove the captain once he has had some kind of silverware behind him. Has happened with Akram in the past (even though he never won any silverware he was the captain that led the team to the world cup final in 1999 and was the definitive captain of the 90s era), Younis khan as the t20 world cup captain and then Sarfaraz as winning CT 2017. Question always comes in on the performance of the captain and then he is removed : for Wasim it allegations of match fixing and deliberately under performing, for YK and Sarfaraz it had been the same under-performance that led to their ouster. Now we have the sedate Azhar and Babar azam. And questions will begin to pour in once either of them don't perform.
 
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For the T20's maybe he could be tried but where as the Tests go Rizwan should play all 3 no matter how he does.
 
Misbah was the only captain that actually managed to sustain as captain, but it was such a poor side back in the day that we were barely minnows hanging by a thread of Misbah's conservative batting style and Ajmal's heroics with the ball. It is kind of saddening that Pakistan's limited overs side that had improved relatively under Mickey and Sarfaraz will now have Misbah's regime of conservative-ness again.
 
Sarfaraz should play the T20s. Rizwan is rubbish in that format and Sarfaraz is at least slightly better.
 
The good thing is Sarfraz did lose a lot of weight so his fitness might be better let's see how he performs if he get any game time most likely will for t20 part of the tour
 
sarfraz is useless garbage I can't believe he made the squad.Misbah the useless is turning out be the worst chief selector of all time.

PCB selected him to pacify ex cricketers and the media mafia who would be playing the Karachi vs Lahore card. Sarfaraz did zilch to merit a recall and I think its better for the PCB to look at other options for the future

Quite useless posts showing no understanding of the situation and selection.

A long tour, Test matches, bio-secure environment, no replacements to fly in, and you two don't want a backup keeper. Mind-blowing, but posting with emotions can do that.

He's the best WK option in the country right now for a backup. Lost tons of weight too.
 
If Rizwan is to reach his potential, he needs Sarfraz to push him. Misbah again showed little regard or ambition for the longer term because both Rohail and Zeeshan should have been on this tour. Instead he chose to bring 2 geriatrics in Malik and Hafeez on the tour.
 
Back in the T20I squad, but does he have a realistic chance of playing in T20Is?
 
Back in the T20I squad, but does he have a realistic chance of playing in T20Is?

I say he might play a game. Rizwan will start but if Pakistan had to fall back on his batting then I don't think he is the kind of Batsman who would provide a quick-fire innings. Sarfraz cant either but when one fails, you naturally go for the 2nd worst option.
 
Looking at Pakistan's T20 middle order, why can't Sarfaraz play purely as a batsman? I think they should try it out. Certainly better than a lot of unknown names they are playing.

I would say Sarfaraz can also slot into Pakistan's ODI side as an opening batsman.
 
Definitely needs to be taken to the WC.

Some really pathetic players of spin in the team currently.

Pak should be 2nd favourites to lift the trophy in favourable conditions, but that won't happen with the current crop of batsmen against spin.

Spin will be key and there will also be reverse swing on offer, just need some competent batsmen against spin.
 
Looking at Pakistan's T20 middle order, why can't Sarfaraz play purely as a batsman? I think they should try it out. Certainly better than a lot of unknown names they are playing.

I would say Sarfaraz can also slot into Pakistan's ODI side as an opening batsman.

Here we go again with the daily episode of 'Sarfaraz as a specialist batsman'.
 
Here we go again with the daily episode of 'Sarfaraz as a specialist batsman'.

Which means none of the present lot are even coming close to cement their places, else this discussion certainly won't arise.
 
Definitely needs to be taken to the WC.

Some really pathetic players of spin in the team currently.

Pak should be 2nd favourites to lift the trophy in favourable conditions, but that won't happen with the current crop of batsmen against spin.

Spin will be key and there will also be reverse swing on offer, just need some competent batsmen against spin.

LOI pitches in India are flat. You get 350+ scores in ODIs and 200+ in Tests. There is no possible way Pakistan can be second favorites in these conditions regardless of the combination.

India and England are by far the two favorites.
 
And Quetta should play Azam Khan as their wicket-keeper.
 
If Sarfraz has any aspirations of making it back into the Pakistan team his best bet will be in the limited overs team as a batsman. And to do that he needs to score runs batting in the top 4. If he doesn't promote himself this year then it will say everything we need to know about his aspirations. And if he has a poor PSL then I think the writing will be on the wall for him.

It's all up to him to show his worth and stake a claim.
 
I have a feeling Sarfraz will not do good as a player and as captain this years and will make way for someone else to lead QG next year.
 
I feel its about time PCB should stop being scared of Few Urdu Speaking nationalist Media personalities like Sikander Bakht who support good for nothing Sarfaraz in a toxic way and keep maligning Rizwan. Selection committee should replace him in the squad with someone like Rohail Nazir. Sarfaraz is just a waste of space in the squad now and is part of the team to keep the above mentioned lobby happy ...

(I am from Karachi myself and know these people very well)
 
Sarfaraz has clearly been watching Rizwan closely - he's opening for Quetta in their first game of PSL6.

Reinventing himself?
 
Sarfaraz goes for 7.

Feet glued to the pitch, weak waft of the bat outside off stump trying to run it down, nicks the edge
 
Captain Sarfaraz coming in at 4 this game and looks on it from the start
 
Pretty decent innings from Sarfaraz today, 40 from 33 in a great partnership with Gayle. A little slow, but all he had to do was give Gayle the strike and let him tee off
 
Has started very brightly against Peshawar. 27 from 14 so far.
 
Brings up his 50 from 31 balls, great batting
 
Part of all three sides - nice holiday coming up for Sarfaraz as don't see him playing in any game
 
I wanted Rohail part of the squad but sarfraz showed good form in the psl so righly so he is kept in the squad
 
Part of all three sides - nice holiday coming up for Sarfaraz as don't see him playing in any game

Carrying a ex captain in international games for a year and not playing him at all can happen only in Pakistan...

It's invitation for player politics and coup
 
I wanted Rohail part of the squad but sarfraz showed good form in the psl so righly so he is kept in the squad

Problem is he is just carried around on every tour just like a dummy like some kinda embarassment or an punishment . Since he has been replaced by rizzy he didn't get any role in the team just carried around not experimented in any way.
So i see no point in selecting him unless he can be rotated well with rizwan or can play just as a batsmen and make use of his whatever left in him and his current batting form.
If you don't have any role for him without rizz being unavailable then it's better to move on and give rohail the opportunity to learn and get some much needed experience.
To add on that interestingly sarfraz never allowed rizwan to come anywhere near his squad when he was the captain . *Correct me if I'm wrong here*
So now tweeting he is behind rizwan and all that b.s makes no sense when the chips sre down for him. He should have shown some faith in him and given him a chance as a batsmen purely when he was in charge. Now the ship has sailed for him this is rohail nazir time now.
He should atleast distance himself from atleast test and make way for rohail as a backup for rizwan.
 
Former captain of Pakistan's national team Sarfaraz Ahmed has hit a noticeable milestone in his career; surpassing Shoaib Malik and Misbahul Haq to become the most successful captain in the history of T20 cricket for Pakistan.

Sarfaraz Ahmed achieved this feat after registering yet another victory in the National T20 Cup. Following the close of first-leg of the competition, Sindh sits at the top of the table, with four wins from six games.

The 34-year-old has registered 86 wins in just 140 matches as a captain with a win-rate of 61.4 per cent. He has overtaken T20 format veteran Shoaib Malik, who managed 85 victories with various franchises he has captained over the years.



https://cricketpakistan.com.pk/en/n...kistans-most-successful-captain-in-t20-format
 
Malik was a far superior captain who made the Stallions a big brand in pre-PSL era.
 
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