"No one should get personal when talking about cricket" : Sarfaraz Ahmed

[AssassinatedDevil]

Pakistan Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed speaking on TV:


"We lost the series 5-0 so if I use tiredness (due to playing leagues) then that would not be the right reason" : Sarf

"We are professional cricketers and we need to always keep ourselves fit"

"All through the series (ODI) when we used to bat first, we would lose 3-4 wickets (quickly) and then we would struggle after that"

"Similar thing happened when we were bowling as we could not strike early and they had an opening partnership which was damaging to us"

"Yes, this (PCB's proposed player management program) was discussed with me"

"Its obvious that when we see things on tour, we discussed them there and that was the right thing to do"

"The fact that our players play in any league or county is a matter of honour for us as they are considered the main players in their teams"

"All of us need to take care of our fitness ourselves"

"As you have seen, the guys were stopped from taking part in the HK T20 Blitz as they are coming off a tiring tour"

"So they were told to play less cricket as Pakistan has some tough tours coming up in the future with back-to-back cricket"

[Talking of team selection decisions] "When you are losing (a series) you tend to try some different things, and when times are bad, such things can backfire on you as well"

"We had no intention of opening with Faheem but in that match, Imam-ul-Haq told us in the morning that he could not play so we said, lets try something new"

"Faheem had practiced a day before and had been told to be mentally prepared to play one-down or in the top-order"

"Same with Mohammad Nawaz as we had been struggling with the new ball, so we said lets go with Nawaz and see if he can do well"

"M Hafeez has been playing regularly and consistently in the team since I have been made captain"

"He has been an important part of the team but unfortunately he is not able to bowl nowadays"

"He is still our ODI (key) player"

"For the T20Is, we went in with Umar Amin and Fakhar Zaman as that was our opening pair against SL"

"M Hafeez has had a detailed discussion with Mickey Arthur and as such it is not the case that that he is
not part of our (future) plans"

"He is a main player for the team, he has performed for Pakistan in the past and I am hopeful that he will perform for Pakistan in the future also"

"I am not aware of any such thing that Hafeez wanted to open the innings and management did not want it"

"I have found out that such things have been said in the media but no such discussion happened between Hafeez and me on this subject"

"What we have decided is that all the guys who played in this tour will now get proper rest, those involved in the PSL will report to Grant Luden"

"After PSL, WI are coming to Pak, and 10-15 days later, Pak will depart for tour of Ireland & England"

"There is always criticism when we lose but we dont make deliberate mistakes"

"No one should get personal when talking about cricket"

[Sarfaraz referring to his background as a 'gully cricketer here] "I am a 'gully' captain & cricketer, and I
play 'gully' like cricket for Pakistan team also"

"Am being criticized after good performances and also after not performing - but all I say is dont get personal and just talk about cricket"

"If you keep on saying personal things about one, then anyone will feel bad and our families also find it offensive when they see it on TV"

"I have never really discussed cricket with Shoaib Akhtar" : Sarf responding to anchor saying that Shoaib had said he has spoken to Sarfaraz

"Mickey Arthur is not a Karachi or a Nazimabad coach, he also makes the Pakistan team with me"

"We make the Pakistan team such that Pakistan wins"

"That is Shoaib Akhtar's opinion and if I say something in return, he will say that this person just started playing cricket and he is talking like this"

"North Nazimabad/Buffer Zone team cannot win the Champions Trophy"

"I am gully cricketer and that is how I play and will continue playing like that for Pakistan if Inshallah given the chance"

"The Sri Lanka game in CT was won with help of Allah's angels and we know how the 2 catches were dropped"

"Its not Hasan Ali who is winning the game or Sarfaraz, but its Allah"

"Usually when you have lost 6-0 in a tour, players say, lets wrap up and go home and think about the next tour"

"But the guys had enthusiasm and said no, let play and win"

"Hasan Ali is a very nice guy, but in the heat of the moment and we all know the position of the match at that point; we had lost 6-0 at that time; I had spoken to him then and what is said on the ground, remained on the ground and it ended there"

"Hasan is a team man and fights for the team, he is like my younger brother to me"

"I get angry a lot but I always say sorry later and they all understand this"

"If we get to final of PSL we will try and win it this time"

"All the teams wanted to pick J Archer if they could based upon his current performances and it was our [QG] good luck that we got a chance to pick him"

"We are very excited that just like J Archer has bowled for other leagues, he will put in the same performances for Quetta also"

"Umar Amin is a good friend and we have played in Pakistan A sides together before, and he was picked by Quetta on my insistence also"

"As a player, I really like him; He has potential but has unfortunately not performed as per that at the international level"

"He played a crucial innings recently and this is the type of innings that can restore your confidence"

"If we can get someone like YK who has said he will help as incharge of the U19 team then that would be great as that would give the team motivation"

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

Some interesting comments from Sarfaraz in there.

 

[Bleedgreen4ever]

Captain on fire..

He is right..A person like Akhter who has not won a single ICC event has no right to call him like that.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Impressed by his comments... The exact opposite of what MISBAH n Azhar all can say... Staying within the limits to give it back what, where, whoever necessary.

 

[Mamoon]

Sarfraz's redeeming quality is that he is not a dud 'gentleman' like Misbah or Azhar - he will give it back to the opposition and he will also confront the so-called ex-players and seniors if needed to be.

However, he falls short on many other fronts.

 

[Sports_Psychologist]

Fighting from the front.... that's the spirit... i hope the same on a cricket field. .. Sarfraz needs to bat at 4 in LOI.. he is useless down the order.. kick hafeez and Malik out... use haris and Amin at 5 & 6..

 

[Fahdi]

So many questions regarding dropping Hafeez. It's like dropping him is a criminal act and people want justice for "The Professor".

 

[Asif321]

so basically it was a BIG LIE by akhtar . he regularly comes on shwos and says im talking and guiding sarfraz regularly . sarfraz has declined any such conversations

 

[MenInG]

so basically it was a BIG LIE by akhtar . he regularly comes on shwos and says im talking and guiding sarfraz regularly . sarfraz has declined any such conversations

Good spot. Yes.

 

[barah_admi]

Another point, what personal issues is Sarfraz referring? He seems to have taken certain things as a personal attack, so who said what? Akhtar I can guess may be guilty of a few things, I've seen his interviews, he is just negative

Oh, and just an aside on Hafeez, although I've said Pak would be better off without him, considering he can't bowl, no Pakistan has scored more ODI runs than him, and only about 4 or 5 cricketers around the world have more. So maybe he does deserve a continued run in the side.

 

[Slog]

Another point, what personal issues is Sarfraz referring? He seems to have taken certain things as a personal attack, so who said what? Akhtar I can guess may be guilty of a few things, I've seen his interviews, he is just negative

Shoaib is effectively moaning here. He means that Sarfaraz selects his friend or players from his own region (which factually you cannot make a case for btw)

He specifically brings in North Nazimabad when there is no need to do that.

Even with Misbah and Azhar Ali he never brought in region or town. At most he said 'galli mohalla' so its not consistent on his part.

 

[Syed1]

Saifi playing on the front foot. Well done larkay

 

[Pete Rose]

It’s a candid interview for the most part.

 

[CricketingMinds]

The sad part is that the interview was focused on "shoaib" and "personal attacks".

I rather have my captain speak about "CRICKET":

- I want to know what was the thinking, the strategy behind discarding the CT blueprint of being aggressive with the bat?

- I want to know why the bowlers were unable to pick wickets in the middle over (like how they did in CT which was the decisive factor between Pak and other teams)

- I want to know what Sarfaraz thinks about his own poor fitness, glove-work (dropping Kane, Missing CDG's stumping) and batting? How is he planning on improving that

- I want to know what kind of changes Sarfaraz thinks he needs to make at a (a) Personal level and (b) Team Level to get more positive results.

You watch the press conferences of India or Aus or Saf and they speak "CRICKET" ... Cricket Strategies.... here our captain is just fighting critics like Akhtar with words.

 

[Markhor]

Shoaib Akhtar is a man who physically assaulted a 60 year old coach and chickened out of a World Cup to avoid getting busted for drugs again.

Sarfraz should take no lectures from someone with such a character.

 

[Syed1]

The sad part is that the interview was focused on "shoaib" and "personal attacks".

I rather have my captain speak about "CRICKET":

- I want to know what was the thinking, the strategy behind discarding the CT blueprint of being aggressive with the bat?

- I want to know why the bowlers were unable to pick wickets in the middle over (like how they did in CT which was the decisive factor between Pak and other teams)

- I want to know what Sarfaraz thinks about his own poor fitness, glove-work (dropping Kane, Missing CDG's stumping) and batting? How is he planning on improving that

- I want to know what kind of changes Sarfaraz thinks he needs to make at a (a) Personal level and (b) Team Level to get more positive results.

You watch the press conferences of India or Aus or Saf and they speak "CRICKET" ... Cricket Strategies.... here our captain is just fighting critics like Akhtar with words.

When the interviewer keeps asking him these questions what is he supposed to do...sit like he is deaf or dumb?

 

[Plumb]

Brilliant Sarfi !!!! Bravo for your comments!!!!! loved it.

These ex cricketers forgets how they used to lose games. They are used to of making nonsense comments on TV, good on Sarfi to give it back to Akhtar. Watch Akhtar coming back and giving lame explanation of his comments. Perhaps If Akhtar was more of "Pakistani Express" than "Pindi express" pakistan would have won more games!!! feel the burn Akhtar!!!

 

[leatherface58]

Agreed. It is just a game. Stop taking it so seriously.

 

[DeadBall]

The sad part is that the interview was focused on "shoaib" and "personal attacks".

I rather have my captain speak about "CRICKET":

- I want to know what was the thinking, the strategy behind discarding the CT blueprint of being aggressive with the bat?
.

It wasn't discarded, it's just that apart from Fakhar we don't have modern LOI standard batsmen who can play an aggressive yet controlled innings, they either tuk tuk or try to go after the bowling regardless of the delivery from ball one and perish soon after. Azhar, Hafeez etc were just having an ON day.

 

[barah_admi]

Shoaib is effectively moaning here. He means that Sarfaraz selects his friend or players from his own region (which factually you cannot make a case for btw)

He specifically brings in North Nazimabad when there is no need to do that.

Even with Misbah and Azhar Ali he never brought in region or town. At most he said 'galli mohalla' so its not consistent on his part.

Incidentally, my family live in N Nazimabad haha

Anyway, Has Sarfraz used his position to bring in karachi players? I don't think so. Akhtar sounds very bitter, as Yousuf normally does.

 

[Usman Chadda]

There's a pro-Hafeez lobby on a particular channel right now, which might have given Akhtar specific instructions to blast the Pakistan team management for Hafeez's treatment. The guy couldn't really be bothered to make sense though. The support for such a mediocre cricketer is appalling though. Hafeez should have left cricket the day he was banned from bowling for the umpteenth time.

 

[ManFan]

There's a pro-Hafeez lobby on a particular channel right now, which might have given Akhtar specific instructions to blast the Pakistan team management for Hafeez's treatment. The guy couldn't really be bothered to make sense though. The support for such a mediocre cricketer is appalling though. Hafeez should have left cricket the day he was banned from bowling for the umpteenth time.

To do that you need to have some shame. Hafeez has NONE. We are talking about the guy that got out to Steyn 15 times and said that on his next tour to SA, he will make sure all this "Steyn talk" is over.

 

[Usman Chadda]

To do that you need to have some shame. Hafeez has NONE. We are talking about the guy that got out to Steyn 15 times and said that on his next tour to SA, he will make sure all this "Steyn talk" is over.

I don't even remember any match which Hafeez has won us against good opposition with his batting. Not even one innings lol. In 14 years of international cricket. Can remember a few bowling performances which helped Pakistan, but absolute ZERO in batting. Malik, for all his failings, has had some match-defining performances with the bat.

 

[ManFan]

I don't even remember any match which Hafeez has won us against good opposition with his batting. Not even one innings lol. In 14 years of international cricket. Can remember a few bowling performances which helped Pakistan, but absolute ZERO in batting. Malik, for all his failings, has had some match-defining performances with the bat.

I detest the very sight of Hafeez. Malik is along the same lines but at least in Asia he has been outstanding since his return.

 

[Savak]

This thread is a perfect example of people letting their personal dislike of an individual i.e. Shoaib get in their way of actually understanding the correct context of what was being said. The sentence "Yeh koi galli mohalay kee team nahin hai, Nazimabad ki team nahin hai, Lahore gymkhana kee team nahin hai" has been used many times by our ex cricketers and captains i.e. Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar and co.

Wasim was made the statement when the anchor asked him should Pakistan rest all the senior players for the final match and go with juniors, youngsters instead and Wasim mentioned "Yeh koi gali mohalay ki team nahin hai", he disagreed with resting seniors and advocated going for the kill, clean sweep in the final match of the series.

Similarly Afridi when captain was asked by a reporter that wouldn't it be wise moving on from the likes of Yousaf, Razzaq e.t.c. and investing in younger players instead, Afridi remarked "Yeh koi gali mohalay ki team nahin hai, yeh Pakistan kee team hai" and that the best 11 will play and that best 11 includes senior experienced players.

I am pretty certain Shoaib made his remarks in a similar context and was trying to make the point that Sarfaraz needs to take his decision making seriously with regards to the playing 11 and wasn't actually accusing him of regional bias as such.

 

[CadPakFan]

Good stuff from Sarfraz.

 

[Poutine]

This thread is a perfect example of people letting their personal dislike of an individual i.e. Shoaib get in their way of actually understanding the correct context of what was being said. The sentence "Yeh koi galli mohalay kee team nahin hai, Nazimabad ki team nahin hai, Lahore gymkhana kee team nahin hai" has been used many times by our ex cricketers and captains i.e. Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar and co.

Wasim was made the statement when the anchor asked him should Pakistan rest all the senior players for the final match and go with juniors, youngsters instead and Wasim mentioned "Yeh koi gali mohalay ki team nahin hai", he disagreed with resting seniors and advocated going for the kill, clean sweep in the final match of the series.

Similarly Afridi when captain was asked by a reporter that wouldn't it be wise moving on from the likes of Yousaf, Razzaq e.t.c. and investing in younger players instead, Afridi remarked "Yeh koi gali mohalay ki team nahin hai, yeh Pakistan kee team hai" and that the best 11 will play and that best 11 includes senior experienced players.

I am pretty certain Shoaib made his remarks in a similar context and was trying to make the point that Sarfaraz needs to take his decision making seriously with regards to the playing 11 and wasn't actually accusing him of regional bias as such.

Can you post just one example of when someone said " Yeh Lahore gymkhana kee team nahin hai". Just one example will do.

 

[Usman Chadda]

This thread is a perfect example of people letting their personal dislike of an individual i.e. Shoaib get in their way of actually understanding the correct context of what was being said. The sentence "Yeh koi galli mohalay kee team nahin hai, Nazimabad ki team nahin hai, Lahore gymkhana kee team nahin hai" has been used many times by our ex cricketers and captains i.e. Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar and co.

Wasim was made the statement when the anchor asked him should Pakistan rest all the senior players for the final match and go with juniors, youngsters instead and Wasim mentioned "Yeh koi gali mohalay ki team nahin hai", he disagreed with resting seniors and advocated going for the kill, clean sweep in the final match of the series.

Similarly Afridi when captain was asked by a reporter that wouldn't it be wise moving on from the likes of Yousaf, Razzaq e.t.c. and investing in younger players instead, Afridi remarked "Yeh koi gali mohalay ki team nahin hai, yeh Pakistan kee team hai" and that the best 11 will play and that best 11 includes senior experienced players.

I am pretty certain Shoaib made his remarks in a similar context and was trying to make the point that Sarfaraz needs to take his decision making seriously with regards to the playing 11 and wasn't actually accusing him of regional bias as such.

Heard the interview in entirety. Shoaib specifically said 'ye koi Nazimabad ki team nahi' and gulli mohalla, Lahore gymkhana weren't mentioned. I don't think Akhtar was going through the regional bias angle, since he is not too smart to induce that into the conversation. But he just likes to ramble on and not think about what he's saying on TV as an ex-cricketer. Setting a bad example.

 

[Major]

Misbah use to cry about this all the time

No one listened. Get used to sarfraz.

All i hope is that Sarfraz does what he likes, and doesn't act on the basis of what media and ex cricketer wants.

The guy has a good performance as captain.

 

[Major]

Sarfraz doesn't play his region team mates yet.

But he will soon and he should

There is nothing wrong in a captain picking players that he likes. Remember one thing, Sarfraz will have better knowledge of his players he plays with in domestic cricket. Thus, if he likes a cricketer, he should vouch for him on the selection table.

Sarfraz should ignore akhtar and other idiots. Even if Sarfraz likes the whole nazimabad team and thinks they are capable of selection then he should discuss this on selection table and get them selected.

Thing is, in cricket, a selectors job is to go to every match and watch the players of every team perform. This is not the national captains job. The national captain only knows the players with whom he plays better, because he spends more time with them. ON the field he doesn't concentrate on oppositions batsmen.

So if Sarfraz thinks so and so regional team mate is good, get him in.

 

[MenInG]

This thread is a perfect example of people letting their personal dislike of an individual i.e. Shoaib get in their way of actually understanding the correct context of what was being said. The sentence "Yeh koi galli mohalay kee team nahin hai, Nazimabad ki team nahin hai, Lahore gymkhana kee team nahin hai" has been used many times by our ex cricketers and captains i.e. Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar and co.

Wasim was made the statement when the anchor asked him should Pakistan rest all the senior players for the final match and go with juniors, youngsters instead and Wasim mentioned "Yeh koi gali mohalay ki team nahin hai", he disagreed with resting seniors and advocated going for the kill, clean sweep in the final match of the series.

Similarly Afridi when captain was asked by a reporter that wouldn't it be wise moving on from the likes of Yousaf, Razzaq e.t.c. and investing in younger players instead, Afridi remarked "Yeh koi gali mohalay ki team nahin hai, yeh Pakistan kee team hai" and that the best 11 will play and that best 11 includes senior experienced players.

I am pretty certain Shoaib made his remarks in a similar context and was trying to make the point that Sarfaraz needs to take his decision making seriously with regards to the playing 11 and wasn't actually accusing him of regional bias as such.

We werent born yesterday.

 

[Savak]

Can you post just one example of when someone said " Yeh Lahore gymkhana kee team nahin hai". Just one example will do.

Watch the Game on Hai show when Wasim Akram was there. He mentioned it a few times.

 

[Oneking]

Why didn’t akhtar speak to India meadia like that when pak trashed them in final, why our ex cricketers make stupid and illetirate example on Pak tv.
Akhtar record speaks for itself, doping charges attitude problems, night before Pak vs Sl in Toronto t 20 final, he was busy clubbing.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

When we have a flamboyant captain, people complain.
When we have a sensible captain, people complain.

Now he has to be Lahori too or he will be heavily criticized at every moment,by both fans and players, as we can see what Sarfraz has to endure.

 

[asadee]

Its a shame to see ex-players showing regional bias. I see some posters here with the same traits but how can i blame them when so called professional ex players are like that too

 

[R3verse Swing]

Good interview, watched it on TV, but there's a massive problem here.

"Its not Hasan Ali who is winning the game or Sarfaraz, but its Allah"

This sort of mentality is what costs Pakistan games. Of course Allah guides us, but to suggest Allah wins games for Pakistan is just not the right attitude. This means that players should not even try if Allah is going to help Pakistan win a match.

Allah rewards efforts, but to expect victory without any effort, is the wrong mindset IMO.

 

[shaz619]

Shoaib Akhtar is a man who physically assaulted a 60 year old coach and chickened out of a World Cup to avoid getting busted for drugs again.

Sarfraz should take no lectures from someone with such a character.

lmao are you bloody serious, he gave him a damn push. And are those your only memories of Akhtar's career ?

 

[Markhor]

lmao are you bloody serious, he gave him a damn push. And are those your only memories of Akhtar's career ?

Sarfraz actually won an ICC tournament and his battle against India; whereas Akhtar got schooled by Tendulkar in a must-win match in 2003 and didn't even turn up in 2007.

Akhtar should look in the mirror and avoid making regionalistic references (Nazimabad comment).

 

[shaz619]

Sarfraz actually won an ICC tournament and his battle against India; whereas Akhtar got schooled by Tendulkar in a must-win match in 2003 and didn't even turn up in 2007.

Akhtar should look in the mirror and avoid making regionalistic references (Nazimabad comment).

Akhtar had a pretty decent tournament in 1999 not his fault others were greedy in the final, he has also been great in Tests for his country. He should have achieve more and has certain controversies but still had a very memorable career and often makes Pakistan's greatest XI.

Akhtar is doing his job and what he says everyone may not agree with it but Sarfraz is coming across as a mental midget and big baby with the 'no one should get personal' comment, how about he just get on with it and perform well for Pakistan instead, just an idea Markhor In the end it's not Akhtar's fault that he has been flopping recently and nor do his comments impact Sarfraz's on field results so he should focus on more important things

 

[Shafi]

So basically Hafeez will not be dropped in next series.

 

[ManFan]

So basically Hafeez will not be dropped in next series.

He CANNOT be dropped. It is almost sacrilege.