"The reason why our ODI cricket has improved so much is due to our youngsters" : Sarfaraz Ahmed

[MenInG]

"The reason why our ODI cricket has improved so much is due to our youngsters" : Sarfaraz Ahmed

Pakistan captain speaking to the media today:

"We have a very young team and our job is to give confidence to our players"

"The way we won the Champions Trophy gave a big boost to our morale and we have continued with very much the same team and we dont want too many changes"

"We have given a lot of confidence to our young player and they are responding so well"

"Players like Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf are getting better day by day"

"The reason why our ODI Cricket has improved so much is due to our youngsters"

"This is a great opportunity for participating teams and I wish them best of luck"

"I will repeat what Rohit Sharma has said, which is that its better if we look at things series by series instead of looking too far ahead in the future"

"When we speak of the Pakistan team, we have a very tough year next year and whilst we can say that the journey to the World Cup has begun, we have series against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to play first"

"By time we get to the World Cup, we will have a clear idea of where we stand and what the strengths of our team are"

 

[Sher Khan]

I’m getting really tired of hearing about the Champions Trophy triumph over and over again. The tournament doesn’t even exist anymore and we really need to move on and stop riding on that triumph.

 

[Pete Rose]

I’m getting really tired of hearing about the Champions Trophy triumph over and over again. The tournament doesn’t even exist anymore and we really need to move on and stop riding on that triumph.

Pakistan hasn’t played much odi cricket since then. Would you like him to talk about how beating Zimbabwe in the odi series gives him confidence?

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

I may sound harsh but, I want you to justify, "Our ODI cricket has improved so much."

You guys played 2 series after Champions Trophy(no use of counting that practice series against Zim), one against SL and other against NZ.

You guys thrashed SL, it was some series but, what happened after it. NZ thrashed you guys like there is no tomorrow.

I don't have any problem if you say, " our odi team is improved." Even I'll agree that this Pak team is well ahead of it's own of yester years. But, my problem is when you say, "so much".

What did you achieve to state it. You guys looked like school kids against NZ.

Any statement should be backed by stats but, yes, if you think beating Zim and SL is "so much", then god forbid this Pak team.

 

[MenInG]

The Champions Trophy victory changed a lot in Pakistan cricket as it brought a certain amount of stability in the white ball team, feels skipper Sarfraz Ahmed.

Pakistan has been playing well for the past one year and Sarfraz attributes it to a discussion he had with chairman of selectors Inzamam-ul-Haq.

"I was made the captain before the Champions Trophy and we had a very young team. My job was to give confidence to the young players and the way we won the tournament was a big boost," Sarfraz said at the captains' press meet ahead of the Asia Cup starting Saturday.

"After that Champions Trophy, I met the chief selector (Inzamam) and told him that we don't want too many changes in the team and that's how the stability came about. We have got some brilliant young players like Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, who are all improving day by day. Our ODI performance improved once the youngsters came into the system," said Sarfraz.

For the soft-spoken Pakistan captain, the World Cup is far away and Asia Cup is one of the steps ahead going into the marquee event next year. "Pakistan have a packed calender going into the World Cup but just like Rohit (Sharma) said we would also like to focus on the Asia Cup for the time being. Then we have the Australia series. We will take it series by series so that when we reach World Cup, we have a fair idea as to where our team stands," he said.

Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews was asked about the acrimonious incidents between the players of his side and the Bangladesh team earlier this year during the Nidahas T20 tournament and he brushed it aside.

"Past is past. Now focus will be on playing good cricket. In this tournament, even if you lose one game, you can just be out of the tournament. So we need to focus on each match. As far as World Cup is concerned, it's too far away and we are not exactly thinking about it right now," said Mathews.

https://www.dnaindia.com/cricket/re...ason-behind-pakistan-team-s-stability-2663212

 

[mak36]

I may sound harsh but, I want you to justify, "Our ODI cricket has improved so much."

You guys played 2 series after Champions Trophy(no use of counting that practice series against Zim), one against SL and other against NZ.

You guys thrashed SL, it was some series but, what happened after it. NZ thrashed you guys like there is no tomorrow.

I don't have any problem if you say, " our odi team is improved." Even I'll agree that this Pak team is well ahead of it's own of yester years. But, my problem is when you say, "so much".

What did you achieve to state it. You guys looked like school kids against NZ.

Any statement should be backed by stats but, yes, if you think beating Zim and SL is "so much", then god forbid this Pak team.

The brand of cricket has been radically transformed.

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

The brand of cricket has been radically transformed.

Which I didn't see in NZ, tho. That was the one of the two series they've played after CT. Just a good series against SL doesn't prove anything. As I said, I agree that Pak cricket, both batting and bowling have improved. But, my problem is when he says, " so much".

 

[Hawkeye]

Our cricket has improved SO much that right after the CT final, the only credible team we played - they completely WHITEWASHED us.

Sarfraz, get real. You and Malik are unfit for modern LOI cricket.

 

[Hawkeye]

The brand of cricket has been radically transformed.

Lol.

So our fans are yet again fooled by some minnow bashing by the likes of Malik.

 

[Hasan123]

We shall see the improvement in the next year . The cheerleaders should calm down and those on the opposite end of the spectrum should also calm down. We will see in a hear or so how good this team is.

Whilst it does have potential, I am waiting and watching the next year of LO cricket to see the true potential.

 

[Pete Rose]

Man, I used to prefer the days when abhay kuruvilla, prasad, ashok dinda, debashish mohanty (barring in canada), and robin Singh used to open the Indian bowling. Could always count on useless afridi to get us to a flyer.
These new Indian fast bowlers are good and will be a challenge: no place for the likes of Malik to hide

 

[Pete Rose]

Lol.

So our fans are yet again fooled by some minnow bashing by the likes of Malik.

I think after playing Zimbabwe we are due for a reality check

 

[Hawkeye]

I think after playing Zimbabwe we are due for a reality check

Indeed.

However, this Asia Cup is more or less a chance game. Not enough games to judge the quality of any side, and the Pak/Ind match can be won by anyone.

 

[Darkrai]

I may sound harsh but, I want you to justify, "Our ODI cricket has improved so much."

You guys played 2 series after Champions Trophy(no use of counting that practice series against Zim), one against SL and other against NZ.

You guys thrashed SL, it was some series but, what happened after it. NZ thrashed you guys like there is no tomorrow.

I don't have any problem if you say, " our odi team is improved." Even I'll agree that this Pak team is well ahead of it's own of yester years. But, my problem is when you say, "so much".

What did you achieve to state it. You guys looked like school kids against NZ.

Any statement should be backed by stats but, yes, if you think beating Zim and SL is "so much", then god forbid this Pak team.

If our ODI team from couple of years ago was decent then yes it wouldn't be right to say we improved a lot but that team was terrible and it was only heading in one direction, it was getting worse. Now our team is improving, and i think that's the main point here. To make a U-turn, from heading towards dark ages, and do something substantial in such a short amount of time is i think why he said we've improved "so much". Yes we lost 5-0 in NZ, but even teams like Aus has gotten beaten 5-0 and India lost 4-0 the last time they visited NZ. What i'm saying is no we're not top 3 in the world, it would be unrealistic expectations for Pakistan to suddenly be on top of the world.