"Very tough to be losing matches but we just tell the boys to back themselves" : Sarfaraz Ahmed

[Abdullah719]

"Very tough to be losing matches but we just tell the boys to back themselves" : Sarfaraz Ahmed

Sarfaraz Ahmed after the warm-up loss to AFG:

"We were 15-20 runs short, and we didn't bowl well in the first 10 overs which is why we lost the match"

"Very tough to be losing matches but we just tell the boys to back themselves and back your strength, we're working hard and hopefully we'll do well soon"

"The dressing room atmosphere is very fine, we just need to work on bowling. Our batsmen are in good knick but we fell 15-20 short here, but we need to work on our bowling"

"Babar played a good knock, he's our main batsman. We picked Wahab due to his pace and reverse-swing, good to see him back"

 

[Asim_khan]

He's the problem at the moment, not batting well, his keeping has always been distinctly average, his captaincy against a minnow side was defensive and as for that review, the less said the better.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Who in their right mind would give a spinner the penultimate over when you have two fast bowlers ready to bowl.
What an idiot

 

[Cric1234]

With a backbone of Malik and Hafeez Sarfraz you've put yourself in a hole.

 

[Kroll]

So basically he's saying it doesn't matter if we keep losing as long as we keep backing ourselves. What?!

 

[Destroyer88]

Watching sarfaraz literally boils me to the point of smashing my tv now. This guy is such a passenger in the team. Well what can i say the whole team is a passenger team now

 

[Majestic_Inzi]

even with that score, we should have won, amir should have got the bowling they 49th over.

 

[Ronaldo7]

I'm starting to hate sarfaraz a lot now. How can one be so dumb??
Where's the game awareness???
We should be thankful this was a practice match. But i still expect him to make such a blunder against the top teams as well.

 

[The_Odd_One]

I think he's right in his assessment. The bowling has been absolutely toothless for a very long time now. Though, this was a below par score, you do not need to post a 400+ score to beat a minnow team. You give this score to India, Australia, NZ, and SA to defend and they will do it 9 out of 10 times against minnows.

 

[Hasan123]

A player who doesn’t make the team on merit can’t motivate anyone.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Didn't help that he brought back Shadab for the penultimate over when Wahab had hauled Pakistan back into the game with some brilliant reverse yorkers. Did just about everything wrong that was possible as a captain including his customary boneheaded review.

 

[Abdullah]

Didn't help that he brought back Shadab for the penultimate over when Wahab had hauled Pakistan back into the game with some brilliant reverse yorkers. Did just about everything wrong that was possible as a captain including his customary boneheaded review.

Yeah I have to believe he wouldn't have done that in a proper game.
The ball was reversing so why would u do that

 

[Syed1]

Bringing back Shadab Khan in the penultimate over has to be the most pathetic piece of captaincy I've ever seen. It's been three hours to the match and I still make sense of why he would do that.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Bringing back Shadab Khan in the penultimate over has to be the most pathetic piece of captaincy I've ever seen. It's been three hours to the match and I still make sense of why he would do that.

Did you just criticise sarfaraz???
This is blasphemy.

 

[Mean&Green]

This guy has become totally clueless actually even in the CT final he was clueless kept bowling part timers to pandya so he could make a name for himself and pandya got out as soon as a fast bowler came on but what baffles me more is our bowlers have become clueless as well bowling slower balls in the opening overs is beyond me and than coming around the wicket what will that do? Honestly there is so much wrong with our team I can’t even type all that out

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Getting fed up of him defending terrible performances as well, and always trying to put a positive spin on every defeat. We batted defensively, fielded like schoolgirls, and bowled disgracefully with the new ball (again).

How about for once just saying that this isn't good enough for a side with a proud history like Pakistan's? Sarfraz is talking like he is leading the Zimbabwe side these days. Like it's some sort of honour even to be playing cricket on these grounds regardless of win or lose.

 

[Junaid_ahmed]

Mr Sarfraz you a are not hero of bollywood movie where you can please everyone, you have to kick out the garbage from the team (malik, hafeez, etc etc) & then after no need to listen loudmouthed like akhtar & yousuf.

You have to maintain distance from both coaches, let your bowlers do what & how they want, you have to restart your yelling on fielders too.

And before all the above, you have to learn cricket a little,
how on earth a captain could have give the ball in the hand of trundler at the most crucial time. You must be thinking that tailender is playing so you may get a wicket on mishit and if continue with the faster then an off the edge boundary will cost you the match but bhai shadab is not a murali or warne, he can never fulfill your these types of hopes. At his best he is 55/3 bowler who can consumed his quota here & there but will never be reliable in crucial stages. A lame man who didnt touch the bat since last 10 years can see these things from a distance of 10 thousand km but you cant. God save Pakistan's cricket.

 

[shaz619]

Bringing back Shadab Khan in the penultimate over has to be the most pathetic piece of captaincy I've ever seen. It's been three hours to the match and I still make sense of why he would do that.

Aliens have kidnapped Syed, please return him to us in one piece

 

[Jabo]

Same old rubbish

Boys will do well at wc
We backing ourselves
Blah blah

This idiot should be the first one to go along with inzi

 

[MenInG]

Sarfaraz is in that rock + hard place situation. No option but to soldier on.

 

[AAli98]

As dreadful as safraz is the whole team seems rotten right up from imam (3 of 19) ul haq down to shahenshah (3 hit me 4s balls per over) Afridi

 

[Energy]

You have to look at his own role in the losses also. In almost every lost game he has a pivotal role, both batting and captaincy wise. Somebody needs to ask about that rather than focusing on his batting number.

 

[MRSN]

Getting fed up of him defending terrible performances as well, and always trying to put a positive spin on every defeat. We batted defensively, fielded like schoolgirls, and bowled disgracefully with the new ball (again).

How about for once just saying that this isn't good enough for a side with a proud history like Pakistan's? Sarfraz is talking like he is leading the Zimbabwe side these days. Like it's some sort of honour even to be playing cricket on these grounds regardless of win or lose.

Amazing how this guy doesn't take ownership of his stupid mistakes like bowling Shadab instead of a fast bowler.

 

[MenInG]

Sarfaraz Ahmed is certain Pakistan are set to peak at just the right time despite losing their first warm-up game ahead of the Cricket World Cup.

ICC Champions Trophy winners in 2017, Sarfaraz and co have spent the last month acclimatising to English conditions.

However, they lost 4-0 to Eoin Morgan’s side before being edged out by neighbours Afghanistan in Bristol in their opening ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup warm-up on Friday.

But skipper Sarfaraz has seen positive sides from his squad - not least in the way they went toe to toe with world No. 1 England.

“We’ve already learned a lot,” he said. “Playing in five different grounds, on different types of pitches, means we know the conditions pretty well now.

“We’ve been here for almost a month and are adapting to the conditions well.

“I’m very confident, it’s good to see my team is fighting.

“Unfortunately we didn’t get the win [against England]. We came close two times and we just didn’t finish well - but the team is in good shape.”

Possessing a high-quality batting line-up featuring the top-ranked T20 batsman in the world in the elegant Babar Azam, Pakistan’s hopes of emulating their success in 2017 have been further boosted by the additions of bowlers Wahab Riaz and Mohammed Amir to their squad.

After taking two wickets in Bristol on Friday, pace bowler Riaz showcased his strong white ball credentials, starring at the death as Pakistan roared back to almost secure an unlikely victory.

“It’s good to have Wahab Riaz back in the squad, hopefully he’ll do very well in the World Cup,” Sarfaraz added.

“I’m very confident with him, Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan back in the team that we have good strength in the bowling line-up.

“We all know the pitches are good in England, but the practice matches have shown us different types of wickets. Against Afghanistan, it was spinning, and in other games, the ball has been swinging.

“The pitches will be good for bowlers and batters in this World Cup.”

Beginning against a big-hitting West Indies side next Friday, Pakistan will now look to draw on their considerable record in England.

Victorious with Sarfaraz at the helm in the Champions Trophy two years ago, the Falcons also lifted the 2009 T20 World Cup at Lord’s - the venue for this summer’s final.

The experience of playing in conditions they know well, together with the likely backing of a large Pakistani contingent, makes England almost a home from home for Pakistan’s skipper.

“Pakistan’s past record in England is very good,” Sarfaraz concluded. “For me, I love to play here, because the pitches are excellent.

“We’ve got lots of support here too, so that’s why we play well in England.“

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

“I’m very confident, it’s good to see my team is fighting.

That's exactly what they're not doing.

 

[QalandarFan]

Forget warm-up match we need to act like it's a real match here against Bangladesh. I say go gung-ho from ball one, no messing around. If Fakhar fires no way Bangladesh is beating us. We desperately need a win heading into the world cup.