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Sarfaraz Ahmed's performance watch after international comeback in 2022

Theway Sarfraz is scoring runs, he can play as specialist batsman in place of Shan Masood
 
Rana said:
Well, why couldn’t Rizwan?
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You dont need to be an Einstein to figure out who is the superior player here. Never mind wicket keeping skills, Rizwan out does Sarfaraz on batting alone. Rizwan just needs a bit of rest to refresh his batteries, thats all.
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gazza619 said:
You dont need to be an Einstein to figure out who is the superior player here. Never mind wicket keeping skills, Rizwan out does Sarfaraz on batting alone. Rizwan just needs a bit of rest to refresh his batteries, thats all.
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I see

Great stats by Rizwan. I guess Abdullah Shafique is also better than Kohli. I don’t need to be Einstein to work that out either
 
imshally81 said:
Your views about Sarfaraz returns?
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He has grabbed the opportunity with both hands under a lot of pressure. Full credit to him.

Rizwan needed this reality-check. He needs to focus on his cricket again & shed the fake persona.
 
His batting has certainly been excellent in both test matches but I have been disappointed with his keeping - missed stumping of Williamson, not noticing some pretty clear edges etc

Don't think he is a long term threat to Rizwan at all just because Rizwan is a different class in keeping. Sarfraz can play instead of Shan Masood as Kianig89 said above.
 
Rana said:
I’ve said this a few times here,

Sarfaraz’s keeping isn’t ideal, but he was brought in to replace Rizwan who seems out of his depth at this level with the bat. Rizwan’s poor form and inability to understand game situations with the bat were critical to Pakistan’s 3-0 embarrassment at home. Sarfaraz’s form with the bat and his ability to actually play all around the wicket has been an undeniable huge improvement to Pakistan’s batting in general

Let’s just say Ramiz wasn’t sacked, and the new regime didn’t step in with team selection, and Babar continued to back his bestie Rizwan as the keeper/bat just like he has been doing with Shan….I can almost guarantee you that even on these roads Rizwan would have continued to struggle with the bat and handed the momentum to NZ to take the lower order wickets. Just like Shan is unable to find a way out of his slump.

When you ask the question of whether both (Riz-Sarf) should play whilst Shan is dropped, I will continue to maintain that Kamran Ghulam is the batsman who should be preferred over both Rizwan and Sarfaraz the one batsman who isn’t keeping wickets. Why play either Sarfaraz or Rizwan as a batsman purely? You already have Salman Agha filling in the 35-40 batting average specialist batsman slot. Why drop Asad Shafique in the first place if that’s the path you wanted to take? Pakistan will always feel like they are a proper batsman short if both Rizwan and Sarfaraz play with one of them as the specialist batsman

So I think it is the bullet we must bite with Sarfaraz’s keeping because let’s be honest, he is the far superior Batsman to Rizwan.

Rizwan’s best shot now is to maybe target Abdullah Shafique’s spot which will soon be under scrutiny considering the guy has hit a brick wall recently with his progression. That too will also be unfair to many of those domestic openers who have been putting in the hard work against the new ball.
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You pick your keeper for their keeping first and batting second. It’s all well and good scoring runs but butter fingers can be catastrophic for the team. If the two can’t play in the same XI then it seems strange, that Rohail Nazir has not been introduced, he has some experience under his belt, there is no harm allowing him to get his feet wet on the international stage. Pakistan do a horrible job of grooming keepers, captains and A/R’s. But anyway, now that Sarfraz is back he has earned a run, maybe with more game time his senses and reflex’s will get better.
 
While this series has shown what an asset Sarfraz can be as a lower middle order batter, with his ability to play spin well and score runs quickly, it has also shown how truly wretched he is behind the stumps, and how excellent Rizwan is by comparison.

I've pretty much lost count of the number of catches he has dropped, the number of stumpings he has missed and the number of times he has been completely oblivious to very clear edges. I don't know how you can even quantify the damage his wicketkeeping has done to us in these two test matches.

Just goes to show the importance of a good wicketkeeper. In test cricket, it has always mattered more than a keeper's batting ability. And it still does to this day.
 
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He has batted brilliantly, but how many missed chances will we endure before posters overcome their blind hatred of Rizwan to realise he is the best wicketkeeper in this country by a mile?

The wicketkeeper's primary job is to keep wicket.
 
Rizwan has 6 months to get his batting back in order. Where can he play red ball domestic cricket during this period?
 
Fumbled another chance.

At his age, don’t see how he can suddenly improve his keeping skills.
 
There was a reason India persisted with Saha for years, eventhough he was an average batter at best who was well into his 30s and had no prospects of playing in any of India's limited overs side. And its because he was an excellent keeper who knew how to keep wickets on turning Indian tracks. Ditto for BJ Watling who was hardly ever known for supreme batting talent.

Rizwan is arguably the best wicketkeeper in the world, along with Ben Foakes. Even if he is failing to get past single figures, he should be playing test cricket just for what he offers with the gloves.

The disparity in wicketkeeping ability between Sarfraz and Rizwan is night and day. And Sarfraz's incompetence behind the stumps has cost us dearly pretty much every session.
 
Firebat said:
He has batted brilliantly, but how many missed chances will we endure before posters overcome their blind hatred of Rizwan to realise he is the best wicketkeeper in this country by a mile?

The wicketkeeper's primary job is to keep wicket.
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He has to have a basic level of competence with the gloves — scoring runs cannot compensate for this, especially on these wickets where chances are so few.
All chances must be taken to secure a win (or in our case manage a draw….).
I like Sarfraz and feel he was poorly treated when the captaincy was removed, but with age, his keeping has deteriorated significantly.
 
Again missed a crucial, potentially match changing catch. There is no way he deserves to be in the side as a specialist keeper.
 
I have said it a million times, Sarfaraz in the XI as a keeper is not good news.
 
Pakistani fielders drop catches left, right and centre but lets go on a with hunt against Sarfaraz who has improved the batting and team performance overall.
 
Kroll said:
Pakistani fielders drop catches left, right and centre but lets go on a with hunt against Sarfaraz who has improved the batting and team performance overall.
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Yeah I guess if India invades Pakistan, that too will be Sarfaraz’s fault
 
If Sarfaraz, playing as a wicket keeper wearing wicket keeper gloves, misses catches and stumpings, then he will be blamed for it. Not rocket science.

The bigger blame of course lies with management. Everyone and their dog knows he can't keep, he should be playing as a batsman.
 
Firebat said:
If Sarfaraz, playing as a wicket keeper wearing wicket keeper gloves, misses catches and stumpings, then he will be blamed for it. Not rocket science.

The bigger blame of course lies with management. Everyone and their dog knows he can't keep, he should be playing as a batsman.
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So Rizwan keeps getting a free ride and a Test cap to his name with zero potential of adding runs to the total?
 
Rana said:
So Rizwan keeps getting a free ride and a Test cap to his name with zero potential of adding runs to the total?
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I couldn't care less who gets a free ride as long as the team selected gives Pakistan the highest chance of winning the Test.

A team with Sarfaraz's batting and Rizwan's keeping would have given Pakistan a higher chance of winning this Test. Am I incorrect?

For someone who used to say "Rizwan fans are not Pakistan fans" every 2nd post, you're sounding awfully hypocritical.

The change was obvious after Sarf's brilliance with the bat and poor keeping in the 1st Test, coupled with Masood's terrible form, most posters were suggesting it in the pre-match.
 
What is the point of Sarfraz? He has scored runs as a batsman, but by dropping catches and miss stumpings, he is giving away as many runs as he is scoring as a batsman. Absolute no point in selecting him. Drop Rizwan for a younger keeper, not a has-been like Sarfraz.
 
Rana said:
So Rizwan keeps getting a free ride and a Test cap to his name with zero potential of adding runs to the total?
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At least he's getting a free ride in ODI to keep his cult happy.
 
The_KING said:
What is the point of Sarfraz? He has scored runs as a batsman, but by dropping catches and miss stumpings, he is giving away as many runs as he is scoring as a batsman. Absolute no point in selecting him. Drop Rizwan for a younger keeper, not a has-been like Sarfraz.
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Costing far more with the gloves than the runs he is making. Dropped Kane on 21 and he went on to score a double. That match could have been completely different had he caught that. Today he dropped Blundell at a time when a wicket would have swayed the game decisively in Pakistan's favor. His net impact has been negative.
 
Kroll said:
At least he's getting a free ride in ODI to keep his cult happy.
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what cult?

bro a keepers first priority is to keep wickets. Sarfraz cant do that.

The reason why we kept Kamran out of the team was because of his keeping, and Sarfraz has shown that he is no better.
 
If you score 80 and cost 120 you have done more damage. I would take Rizwans 25 runs plus tidy keeping.

If Sarfaraz was younger I'd understand but he's not improving.
 
Rubbish keeper

His runs are basically ZERO when he drops so many chances
 
Major said:
what cult?

bro a keepers first priority is to keep wickets. Sarfraz cant do that.

The reason why we kept Kamran out of the team was because of his keeping, and Sarfraz has shown that he is no better.
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He's an interim pick and this is the last test in the series. Batting was rubbish and he improved it, hopefully he does the damage in this high pressure chase.

Rizwan will probably be back for the Sri Lanka tour and then its Australia at the end of year, so can't really see him being there either.

So folks can relax if they want to see the back of him.
 
Kroll said:
He's an interim pick and this is the last test in the series. Batting was rubbish and he improved it, hopefully he does the damage in this high pressure chase.

Rizwan will probably be back for the Sri Lanka tour and then its Australia at the end of year, so can't really see him being there either.

So folks can relax if they want to see the back of him.
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doesnt matter what he did in batting, his primary job is keeping.

Its not about being relax. WHy was he here in the first place? Had a performing sarfraz been replaced with a rizwan, sarfraz fans and his media backed gang would had gone crazy. But when its sarfraz performing bad than people should relax
 
Major said:
doesnt matter what he did in batting, his primary job is keeping.

Its not about being relax. WHy was he here in the first place? Had a performing sarfraz been replaced with a rizwan, sarfraz fans and his media backed gang would had gone crazy. But when its sarfraz performing bad than people should relax
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his fans are blind. His keeping is actually is worse than Kamran Akmal these days
 
amvbfm said:
Costing far more with the gloves than the runs he is making. Dropped Kane on 21 and he went on to score a double. That match could have been completely different had he caught that. Today he dropped Blundell at a time when a wicket would have swayed the game decisively in Pakistan's favor. His net impact has been negative.
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It makes no difference if Sarfraz scores runs. At least Rizwan is an excellent keeper and doesn’t cost the team any runs due to his pathetic wicket keeping. Rizwan’s 20 runs are more valuable than Sarfraz’s 75 runs.
 
Afridi on Sarf in his presser:

"Alhamdolillah, I am very happy that Sarfaraz came back into the side and has scored runs at crucial moments, but we have Mohammad Rizwan available to us, he is available for ODIs and T20Is, he is our main player for these formats"

"If we ever need due to injury to Rizwan, then we do have Sarfaraz with us, but we don't need to mix things up; So, we don't want a situation where Sarfaraz is performing well in Tests but doesn't do well in ODIs and then there is pressure on him"

"As I have said before, we have to keep some players for Tests and some for ODIs and T20Is; Whenever we feel Riz is tired or not performing well, we have Sarfaraz as an option"
 
Sarf and BA building nice rapport

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 76.042%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/r5p9hh" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
Asif321 said:
Good on him . Highest test run getter as WK for Pakistan
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Indeed that will be the ceiling for many years to come and for Rizwan to beat..

Even MSD could only avg 38ish as a wicket keeper batsman in 90 tests, couldnt cross the 5k runs..

Not easy to keep wickets and score runs in test cricket , Well done Sarfraz..

If he can win this match with a 100 today , he should be drafted into the ODIs as the 17th member..

His game against spin will be very useful in INDIA CWC'23
 
ask_analyse_act said:
Indeed that will be the ceiling for many years to come and for Rizwan to beat..

Even MSD could only avg 38ish as a wicket keeper batsman in 90 tests, couldnt cross the 5k runs..

Not easy to keep wickets and score runs in test cricket , Well done Sarfraz..

If he can win this match with a 100 today , he should be drafted into the ODIs as the 17th member..

His game against spin will be very useful in INDIA CWC'23
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If he does get the match winning hundred, I myself will personally contact Rajkumar Hirani and help fund the blockbuster movie "Sir Fraz"

What a storybook career!
 
Highlights of his fifty

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/ll1ubk" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
Can we consider having both Sarafraz and Rizwan in the test line up ? Get rid of Masood.
 
ssuhaide said:
Can we consider having both Sarafraz and Rizwan in the test line up ? Get rid of Masood.
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Why consider it now? 3 years later?

Rizwan needs to do his time. Learn how to bat in the domestics
 
No point of scoring 80 odd but dropping catches and letting the opposition score an extra 100 to 200.

I would have him as specialist bat on these flat decks at Masoods expense but he cannot have the gloves!
 
Highest average now for a Test keeper for Pak

6FPmByW.png
 
Great comeback series as a batter.

Glove work is abysmal though. Good to see him regain his lost confidence.
 
as-95 said:
No point of scoring 80 odd but dropping catches and letting the opposition score an extra 100 to 200.

I would have him as specialist bat on these flat decks at Masoods expense but he cannot have the gloves!
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Agree 100%. Couldn't have said it better myself.
 
Brilliant Sarf! What a comeback and the only one trying to win this game
 
as-95 said:
No point of scoring 80 odd but dropping catches and letting the opposition score an extra 100 to 200.

I would have him as specialist bat on these flat decks at Masoods expense but he cannot have the gloves!
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Which batsmen did he drop that went on and scored 200 runs??
 
The 100 moment

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/ue0vht" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
He is looking even better with the bat than he did during his 2014-15 purple patch. Incredible innings thus far in a very high-pressure run chase where the entire top order failed. It will be a knock for the ages if he can see Pakistan home.

Has to be a mainstay of the test side going forward, but as a pure batter.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sarfaraz Ahmed's brilliant return with the bat to the Pakistan Test side:<br><br>118<br>78<br>53<br>86<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PakvsNZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PakvsNZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/nKt7qauHB0">pic.twitter.com/nKt7qauHB0</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1611347494516187139?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
But he should not be in eleven in Aus or He should only play in Sydney. He play too many shots on third man dangerous on bouncy decks.
 
Sarfraz should have been played in Srilanka, He play spin very well. Eng would have easily worked him out as he play too many shot on third man.
 
It's only a matter of time he is in odi and t20 team our next test series is in Sri Lanka and then Australia end of 2023 and then west indies come in 2023/2024 I think for 2 tests so in total I think there are 7 tests for next calender year.

Meanwhile we have odis and t20s and Asia Cup there will be lots of pressure for him to be included.

If rizwan messes up In new Zealand series he will probably be even discarded from odis and t20s for a good 2 years .
 
If sarfaraz is your best player… you must be a pathetically poor team. There’s better wicketkeeper batsmen in at least 5 associate teams..
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
He is looking even better with the bat than he did during his 2014-15 purple patch. Incredible innings thus far in a very high-pressure run chase where the entire top order failed. It will be a knock for the ages if he can see Pakistan home.

Has to be a mainstay of the test side going forward, but as a pure batter.
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When every other dropped player was making comments on the sidelines, this guy just kept quiet, went back to domestic cricket and kept performing. He also showed immense strength of character in almost getting Pakistan to the finish line.

I agree that he needs to play at 5 as a batsmen, with Rizzy coming back as keeper. That way you improve the fielding within the side (Saifi is a good fielder) and also improving the keeping.

He also absolutely shouldn’t be made captain. Let him contribute as a batsmen only.
 
Outstandnig series. He stood between 2-0 in favor of NZ. MVP stuff. But wicket keeping is dodgy though
 
Rana said:
If he does get the match winning hundred, I myself will personally contact Rajkumar Hirani and help fund the blockbuster movie "Sir Fraz"

What a storybook career!
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It was a great knock..

He did get the match-winning hundred but let down by the rest of the team.. Any plans to fund the movie yet:ht
 
AAli98 said:
If sarfaraz is your best player… you must be a pathetically poor team. There’s better wicketkeeper batsmen in at least 5 associate teams..
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Beggars cant be choosers.. they are indeed a poor associate team .. Cant you see them hammered by non-Asian team on their own backyard for 3 series continuously..

The bowling attack they played cant take 20 wickets and they still keep Yasir Shah out of the Squad..
 
Unexpected, unreal performance with the bat...
He seems he really missed the time away form his team...

Full marks for the effort....

:inti
 
Like I said many times before.

Sarfraz is backbone of Pakistan team.

Sarfraz is oxygen of Pakistan team.
 
Master Blaster said:
Unexpected, unreal performance with the bat...
He seems he really missed the time away form his team...

Full marks for the effort....

:inti
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Yep. Sarfaraz seems to thrive on adulation and respect. His ego would have taken such a huge hit when he got dropped. Now his chance has come again he had too much to lose to let it slip through his fingers.

Congratulations to Sarfaraz for securing his test place for the next 4-5 series.

Now he needs to push Rizwan hard for the ODI spot. May the best man win...and i have a feeling it may just be Sarfaraz.
 
Naturally, we need to ask if it was right to drop him as captain a few years ago. Would we have been better off? I know there was pressure from the top to sack Sarfaraz and make Babar captain. Saffy’s form had taken a dip plus the team was starting to tune him out. Looking at the results perhaps keeping him as test captain would have been the right move.
 
Good thing that Pakistani management decided to go with Sarfraz otherwise Pak would have certainly lost this series as well because of Rizwan's 20's
 
ChTab said:
Good thing that Pakistani management decided to go with Sarfraz otherwise Pak would have certainly lost this series as well because of Rizwan's 20's
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Their hand was forced

Rizwan was going to play had Afridi not stepped in
 
KingOfPakBreakfast said:
When every other dropped player was making comments on the sidelines, this guy just kept quiet, went back to domestic cricket and kept performing. He also showed immense strength of character in almost getting Pakistan to the finish line.

I agree that he needs to play at 5 as a batsmen, with Rizzy coming back as keeper. That way you improve the fielding within the side (Saifi is a good fielder) and also improving the keeping.

He also absolutely shouldn’t be made captain. Let him contribute as a batsmen only.
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This is absolutely the most logical and obvious thing to do for the current team. But if it does happen, it’ll surprise us all. Self evident decision-making is the bane of Pakistan cricket.
 
Granted Sarfaraz was not in good form and had perhaps let the captaincy get to his head where he let go of his fitness. But it was harsh to completely banish him from selection for almost 3 years.
 
What a knock this was.

Looked so comfortable and dominant throughout. It’s like he was playing on a different pitch to everyone else.

The team needs to be balanced. Is there a place for Sarfaraz as a specialist batter in this side alongside Rizwan as wicketkeeper? Or is that a silly idea.
 
Savak said:
Granted Sarfaraz was not in good form and had perhaps let the captaincy get to his head where he let go of his fitness. But it was harsh to completely banish him from selection for almost 3 years.
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It’s unfortunately how Pakistan cricket works. Reactive wholesale changes to signal ‘intent’ rather than actual thought out changes for the better. Sarfi was made personna non grata when he could have still contributed to the team a batsmen all these years. But he had to be removed by Misbah and hung out to dry. Similarly, there will be a similar campaign to do the same to Babar-Riz by the new regime. Let’s hope that sense prevails and Riz is used in the formats (e.g. ODIs) where he is best suited.
 
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