[VIDEO] Sarfaraz Ahmed already looking confident in his role as captain...

[MenInG]

I went to spend the day with Karachi Kings at their nets in Sharjah. Lovely day, thanks to the hospitality of my friends there.

Apart from meeting the squad and the Coach, what really caught my eye was the arrival of Sarfraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq as the KK guys were ending their nets.

So I looked for the rest of the Gladiators squad but couldnt see them. I asked around and was told that Sarfraz and Asad had come on their own for extra practice.

That impressed me.

What impressed me most was how Sarfraz ran laps around the ground, did his own warming up etc, then went off himself to the nets for a good batting workout.

<iframe frameborder="0" width="480" height="270" src="//www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x5bs3qw" allowfullscreen></iframe>​

I later saw Sarfraz at the hotel; Call it what you like, but when he walked into the lobby of the hotel, you could see he had the gait of a captain; the confidence in his appearance is amazing and you can see it now. We are seeing just a glimpse of that in his Gladiator's role but I am sure there is more to come soon.

So can he become the best captain ever?

Time will tell but there is something about Sarfraz which makes him special!

 

[Sub-Zero]

The scenes when Sarfraz leads Pakistan like an underdog Quetta and start winning most of the matches

 

[DRsohail]

the extra session really inspires....hard work pays...

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

He's a natural leader...If there are any doubts please look at his captaincy record during the junior levels.

 

[Big Mac]

Can't wait for this thread to be upped 18 months from now. Will miggy's OP be revered or ridiculed? Only time will tell...

 

[Syed1]

Wow!


I knew he was a hard worker and had an awesome attitude, but had no idea that he was so motivated to go train on his own on an off-day. Mashallah that is the heart of a champion.

Give Sarfaraz a competent team and he can bring Pakistan back to where it belongs.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Excited to see him lead the ODI team.

 

[Madplayer]

I agree with you [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION] bhai

As a player some people might have doubts about him but as a captain its hard to deny that he knows how to use his resources. He looks so sure and clear about what he has to do. Its an amazing quality.

 

[saeed5646]

Finally we have some positive to hear about our team

 

[Sub-Zero]

So I looked for the rest of the Gladiators squad but couldnt see them. I asked around and was told that Sarfraz and Asad had come on their own for extra practice.

That impressed me.

What impressed me most was how Sarfraz ran laps around the ground, did his own warming up etc, then went off himself to the nets for a good batting workout.

I later saw Sarfraz at the hotel; Call it what you like, but when he walked into the lobby of the hotel, you could see he had the gait of a captain; the confidence in his appearance is amazing and you can see it now. We are seeing just a glimpse of that in his Gladiator's role but I am sure there is more to come soon.

So can he become the best captain ever?

Time will tell but there is something about Sarfraz which makes him special!

Sarfraz has to the toughest guys around mentally, he definitely has more passion than anyone else in the team probably.
The way he overcame his issues with the management back in 2015 World Cup after the disappointing comments from the head coach, and came back with eye catching performances, shows that he is indeed the most determined guy in the squad right now

#SarfrazDhokaNhiDega

 

[Syed1]

Excited to see him lead the ODI team.

If only Umar Akmal had half off the motivation that Sarf has to better himself. That way he wouldn't be weighing 91 kgs

 

[Rayyman]

He has nearly all of the qualities of a great leader. Aggressive, passionate, inspiring, opportunistic, unorthodox, stubborn, etc. The only thing he needs now is to be more physically imposing. Ala Misbah. Imo one of the main reasons Misbah was respectable was because he was big, strong and in great shape. Sarfraz should add some muscle and grow an intimidating beard and then he will be the complete package.

 

[Sub-Zero]

If only Umar Akmal had half off the motivation that Sarf has to better himself. That way he wouldn't be weighing 91 kgs

Umar Akmal and Sarfraz have opposite mentality, Umar thinks he's special and does not work hard enough.
Umar is making his way into TTF category, while Sarfraz is becoming better day by day, be it his captaincy or batting, becoming the top scorer in the England ODI series (both teams combined) shows that he is indeed our best ODI batsman (along with Babar), in 2016 his ODI average was 54.66 and the strike rate was 92.83

 

[Markhor]

Wow!


I knew he was a hard worker and had an awesome attitude, but had no idea that he was so motivated to go train on his own on an off-day. Mashallah that is the heart of a champion.

Give Sarfaraz a competent team and he can bring Pakistan back to where it belongs.

Give Sarfraz a competent team ? We've got PP armchair experts who think Sarfraz shouldn't even be in the team let alone captain.

Clearly we should've listened to them and replaced him long ago with Mohammad "best finisher in the country" Rizwan and Umar "most talented batsman in the country" Akmal.

 

[mz123]

If only Umar Akmal had half off the motivation that Sarf has to better himself. That way he wouldn't be weighing 91 kgs

If only sharjeel wasn't involved in this spot fixing case...

 

[GLORY OF '92]

He will be a good captain but we just lost our best ODI player.

Shame.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

I dont know why people are surprised

Sarfraz is the only (youngishh) player who has actually been allowed to captain a fair bit in domestic. He was the logical choice after misbah but deference to seniors and establishment was more important.

 

[MMHS]

He should have been the Captain 2 years back. From his U19 days, he had been different than recent PAK Captains. I can tell that in a Final against India, recent PAK Captains at any level, would have tried to take the game as close as possible for a respectable defeat - defending 107.....

His only issue is his work load & decline in his core skills - that's keeping. In LO, even if he can't manage keeping, still he can manage as a specialist bat (& PAK can play a WK, better batsman than Rizwan, who replaces one of the batsman like Malik or Umar or the possible vacancy at opening), but don't see him handling keeping in 3 formats & he is not good enough for a specialist batsman's spot in Test. He is maintaining a good Test average for his not outs & quick fire 30s & 40s, which is fine for No. 7 in a 6 batsmen strategy, but with an all-rounder, he'll be batting at 5 as specialist bat - don't see him succeeding, hence he shouldn't be the Test Captain.

Had Umar not been in his 35th week, I would have said that keep with both alternatively, or say batting first, the day one bats for longer other one keeps, so that Sarfu's work load is reduced & keeps both ready; but as I see, Umar might lose his spot even in LQ team ...

 

[Sub-Zero]

Give Sarfraz a competent team ? We've got PP armchair experts who think Sarfraz shouldn't even be in the team let alone captain.

Clearly we should've listened to them and replaced him long ago with Mohammad "best finisher in the country" Rizwan and Umar "most talented batsman in the country" Akmal.

the recent performances by the Pakistani team have taken its toll on the mental health of some of the fans here
don't worry soon Sarfraz will lead the side from the front and they will turn into his fans

 

[Arsalan Pro]

He is a confident, brave,determined and a outstanding captain. Wonderful to see the that he has again lifted the most under rated team to the top of the group.

 

[sshakir411]

I'm sure this extra practice isn't just for show or PSL. Does make sense on why he's able to perform better than his peers despite his limitations...Sarfraz is the guy whose performance can inspire the team unlike the previous few captains.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

He truly is a special leader and will hopefully bring wonders for Pakistan.

 

[Sarfarazian92]

Still needs to lose weight.

 

[Syed1]

He will be a good captain but we just lost our best ODI player.

Shame.

What happened to Babar?

 

[zn426]

Wow!


I knew he was a hard worker and had an awesome attitude, but had no idea that he was so motivated to go train on his own on an off-day. Mashallah that is the heart of a champion.

Give Sarfaraz a competent team and he can bring Pakistan back to where it belongs.

You don't need to give him a completely ready team, he will set the tone and drag them up with him.

 

[kingusama92]

Not sure how he compares with other captains but he's easily the best one in Pakistan.

Still surprised they went with Azhar Ali before him.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

all things aside, how can i become a net bowler. i really want to bowl to these guys once in my life just to tell other people that i've bowled to international batsmen.

someone help ....

 

[MenInG]

Can't wait for this thread to be upped 18 months from now. Will miggy's OP be revered or ridiculed? Only time will tell...

No worries - my Ops are always ridiculed....

 

[MenInG]

all things aside, how can i become a net bowler. i really want to bowl to these guys once in my life just to tell other people that i've bowled to international batsmen.

someone help ....

So I met this spinner from Mumbai in Sharjah - one of 3 bowlers from some club in Sharjah

Guy said to me - look I will never get a chance to play international cricket but here I have chance to bowl to the likes of Sanga, Gayle etc and if I can take their wicket, it will be as close to taking an international wicket as the real thing!

 

[Sub-Zero]

all things aside, how can i become a net bowler. i really want to bowl to these guys once in my life just to tell other people that i've bowled to international batsmen.

someone help ....

usually the bowlers from the local clubs or 2nd grade teams gets the opportunity to bowl.
for example if Pakistan team is going to tour a country, and staying in some city, the cricket board of the host country manages to get them some bowlers from the 2nd grade teams or clubs of the city

 

[Big Mac]

So I met this spinner from Mumbai in Sharjah - one of 3 bowlers from some club in Sharjah

Guy said to me - look I will never get a chance to play international cricket but here I have chance to bowl to the likes of Sanga, Gayle etc and if I can take their wicket, it will be as close to taking an international wicket as the real thing!

I'm just disappointed we don't have footage of you grabbing the ball out of a kid's hand and steaming in to bowl. Shame on you, you've let all of us down.

 

[Asif khan]

He won't last long if he gives his buddies like Asad Shafiq a free reign in the side.

 

[PakLFC]

I think he is very comfortable being captain. Was that with the U 19'S when I think Pak won the world cup under his captaincy.

 

[Hasan123]

Him leading the odi side is an exciting prospect

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

So I met this spinner from Mumbai in Sharjah - one of 3 bowlers from some club in Sharjah

Guy said to me - look I will never get a chance to play international cricket but here I have chance to bowl to the likes of Sanga, Gayle etc and if I can take their wicket, it will be as close to taking an international wicket as the real thing!

same. i just want to have the feel of this once in my life.

there is literally no cricket in sweden and the closest we get is norway but it is almost always pre booked. mig bhai please bowl at them if you ever get a chance and re-live my dream.

 

[Cosmic]

Isn't it better We wait until Sarfaraz has achieved something .. Rather than making Big and Dreamy Assumptions. Confidence only come when something big come such as winning a cup.. or inspired a test series win.. Sarfaraz not even captain a single ODI.. and we are thinking that and that.. Please wait...

 

[nitrous]

Just wait until he fails and then these same posters will turn against him.

Gotta have some patience guys, dont have high hopes just yet!

 

[Hamza_]

We have already almost lost Sharjeel and Khalid. So Sarfraz, Selectors and Mickey Arthur have to take some important decisions now.

 

[princeuk]

He really is a genuinely upbeat person, he brings a lot to the team

 

[Saj]

Simple advice to him:
Be your own man. Don't let the local media rule you and influence you
Don't get involved in dirty politics as others do

 

[Eagle_Eye]

If he's such a hard worker .... how come he looks overweight and had a terrible year behind stumps most probably as result of it.

 

[Square Drive]

Drop him from the LOI squads. His inability to play the big shots is once again exposed through this net session.

 

[StreetSmart]

If only sharjeel wasn't involved in this spot fixing case...

the World will not end after Sharjeel soon we will get his replacement and everything will be all right

 

[Hamza_]

the World will not end after Sharjeel soon we will get his replacement and everything will be all right

I think people don't realize but Sharj was a fabulous potential for Pak and I don't really see a player of his level in domestic who could play pace like that.

Now that Sarfraz is the captain, hopefully he could find a replacement along with selectors and Mickey, Left handed opener is a must at the top, Umar Amin, Khushdil Shah and maybe Saad Ali if he bats at the top could be tried.

 

[Mamoon]

I think people don't realize but Sharj was a fabulous potential for Pak and I don't really see a player of his level in domestic who could play pace like that.

Now that Sarfraz is the captain, hopefully he could find a replacement along with selectors and Mickey, Left handed opener is a must at the top, Umar Amin, Khushdil Shah and maybe Saad Ali if he bats at the top could be tried.

Its about the culture. Sharjeel was unique for our standards, but he was fairly normal compared to what other teams have, who have such players dime a dozen.

If Pakistan starts produces fast, bouncy pitches in domestic cricket and starts picking players based on their strike rates, it will only be a matter of time before we start producing players like him.

Will it happen? I don't know, but there has been a lot of talk lately about changing our domestic pitches and playing with higher strike rates.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

the World will not end after Sharjeel soon we will get his replacement and everything will be all right

You would struggle to find a player of Sharjeel's ability in world cricket let alone in Pakistan. People don't understand just how gifted he is. He took on Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins with such ease from ball one. You don't find players like that everyday. He was making 150ks bowling look like a joke.

 

[Hamza_]

You would struggle to find a player of Sharjeel's ability in world cricket let alone in Pakistan. People don't understand just how gifted he is. He took on Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins with such ease from ball one. You don't find players like that everyday. He was making 150ks bowling look like a joke.

And he just threw it away. This is a bigger loss than trio IMO. What a shame, A shock or horror, Really can't explain what words to use.

 

[waleed88]

Wow!


I knew he was a hard worker and had an awesome attitude, but had no idea that he was so motivated to go train on his own on an off-day. Mashallah that is the heart of a champion.

Give Sarfaraz a competent team and he can bring Pakistan back to where it belongs.

And then some people say he is not one of the fittest in the side... Some people also called him 3rd worst in fitness in the whole squad and said Zulfiqar Babar and Imad Wasim are fitter than him

 

[Arsalan Pro]

And then some people say he is not one of the fittest in the side... Some people also called him 3rd worst in fitness in the whole squad and said Zulfiqar Babar and Imad Wasim are fitter than him

Those are blind fans!!! His fitness is clearly proven by the fact that he is the most quick runner between the wickets of Pakistan and makes singles into doubles.He showed this ability in Quetta vs Karachi Match where he and Rossouw were just unbelievable.

 

[khurram39]

His looks and gestures is very good but at the start he is in difficulty in the form of Sharjeel who will be missing and now the real test how he cope the situation. In recent past we only develop one player who's service will be not available to him.

 

[MenInG]

One thing about Sarfraz which I saw was the times he was losing his temper - looked really angry at times and didnt care much about who he was talking to. Think that is good ?

 

[Asif321]

i dont like his team selections

 

[MenInG]

i dont like his team selections

Mickey will fix that!

 

[cricketerB94]

i dont like his team selections

Yup. Shafiq is not a T20 batsman yet Sarfraz is giving him consistent chances.

 

[badsha001]

One thing about Sarfraz which I saw was the times he was losing his temper - looked really angry at times and didnt care much about who he was talking to. Think that is good ?

Most of time he behaves like he is captaincy gully mohalla team, always shouting and telling bowler after every ball what batsman is trying to do. He needs to follow Dhoni's footstep and be calm about everything...

 

[The_KING]

His captaincy was poor today. And he keeps selecting his rubbish buddies Shafiq, Gul, Anwar but of course Sarfraz is perfect so shouldn't be criticised. Only Misbah selects his friends.

 

[Hasan123]

A good captain who I will support and I'm glad is captain. Just not faultless like his fans think.

Also likes to pick his buddy like most Pakistan captains.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Those are blind fans!!! His fitness is clearly proven by the fact that he is the most quick runner between the wickets of Pakistan and makes singles into doubles.He showed this ability in Quetta vs Karachi Match where he and Rossouw were just unbelievable.

one of the reasons for him looking quick is that pakistani players do not look effortless while running between the wickets. i can safely say that sam billings is faster at doing that but he makes it look so effortless. billings is like the wind breezing through while pakistanis huff and puff doing that.

 

[abughio]

Sharjeel has played only one match winning innings against Ireland. He is no way bigger loss than the tainted trio

 

[coy0607]

His captaincy was poor today. And he keeps selecting his rubbish buddies Shafiq, Gul, Anwar but of course Sarfraz is perfect so shouldn't be criticised. Only Misbah selects his friends.

who told you Sarfraz keeps picking his buddies?

Anwar Ali and Shafiq have been playing for the same guy who once owned the cricket club they started at and now owns Quette Gladiators- he is picking them, now Shafiq

 

[Syed1]

One bad game and the haters are all out in full force. I wonder if captains that preceded him were subjected to the same level of criticism and judged with the same prism.

 

[Syed1]

A good captain who I will support and I'm glad is captain. Just not faultless like his fans think.

Also likes to pick his buddy like most Pakistan captains.

If Sarfaraz keeps picking his buddies then why aren't Shafiq and Anwar Ali part of the T20 side even though he has captained in four T20s now across 2 series.

 

[Hasan123]

If Sarfaraz keeps picking his buddies then why aren't Shafiq and Anwar Ali part of the T20 side even though he has captained in four T20s now across 2 series.

He could pick them in odis. We'll see what squads are picked for the next few LO series.

 

[Barragan]

A blunder today by not bowling out Nawaz and giving the ball to riad.

Watson was struggling against spin and was there for the taking.

Nevertheless, he should learn from it and not try to keep the overs up his sleeves, whilst the batsmen are struggling.

 

[Syed1]

He could pick them in odis. We'll see what squads are picked for the next few LO series.

No coulda shoulda woulda. The ground reality is he had a chance and he hasn't picked them. Much to the dismay of his haters.

 

[sshakir411]

No coulda shoulda woulda. The ground reality is he had a chance and he hasn't picked them. Much to the dismay of his haters.

These haters should be reminded that there is a chief selector called Inzamam who selects the squad in consultation with the coach and not captain.

 

[Saj]

Dropped a simple catch today which ultimately cost Quetta the match. If Watson had been dismissed for 0 it was pretty much match over.

 

[badsha001]

These haters should be reminded that there is a chief selector called Inzamam who selects the squad in consultation with the coach and not captain.

I think you haven't been on pakpassion lately, Azhar ALi asked for Hafeez and last time i checked Azhar Ali was the captain not a coach.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Dropped a regulation catch which lost them the game. Needs to improve his keeping against spinners

 

[Sub-Zero]

Dropped a simple catch today which ultimately cost Quetta the match. If Watson had been dismissed for 0 it was pretty much match over.

there were other factors too, it will be unfair to blame it on Sarfraz alone, Shafiq was horrible, his innings and Billings' innings was the main difference, Gul and Perrera were awful as well

 

[Syed1]

there were other factors too, it will be unfair to blame it on Sarfraz alone, Shafiq was horrible, his innings and Billings' innings was the main difference, Gul and Perrera were awful as well

Anwar was actually not that bad. He is definitely making a case for a comeback as a bowling alrounder.


However, Gul and Perara were beyond bad. No captain can do anything in that case.

 

[Rayyman]

One thing about Sarfraz which I saw was the times he was losing his temper - looked really angry at times and didnt care much about who he was talking to. Think that is good ?

Look MenInG bhai, nobody is perfect. Of course losing temper isn't good, but it isn't a bad flaw to have for a captain. After all, I'd rather have the captain be loud and angry than calm and quiet. Having a loud captain keeps the players on their toes while fielding. If a player is sad from captain's yelling, then the coach can cheer them up.

 

[Sub-Zero]

Anwar was actually not that bad. He is definitely making a case for a comeback as a bowling alrounder.


However, Gul and Perara were beyond bad. No captain can do anything in that case.

Gul, Perrera, KP and Shafiq needs to be dropped
Zulfi, Mills, Luke, Amin needs to play next game
I doubt it though, they won't drop KP and Shafiq at least, because they are senior players, KP always give suggestions to the players on the field because he's the most senior player and Shafiq scored some runs (although it was the worst 45 of the PSL) and he's a good fielder as well.
I think it's not completely Sarfraz's decision, Moin Khan, Razzaq and Viv would have made a unanimous decision on the playing XI

 

[Sub-Zero]

One thing about Sarfraz which I saw was the times he was losing his temper - looked really angry at times and didnt care much about who he was talking to. Think that is good ?

Imran Khan was kinda like that as well, wasn't he? Wasim and Waqar too

 

[Sarfarazian92]

He needs to act boldly and drop Kipi bhai for Luke Wright.

 

[Major]

Shane watson is much more smarter the him looks like.

He wasted his spinner at the wrong time. Watson played him off for 3 runs and then attacked the remaining pacers

 

[The_KING]

Dropped a simple catch today which ultimately cost Quetta the match. If Watson had been dismissed for 0 it was pretty much match over.

Something he does pretty much every game. He drops catches or miss stumpings all the time.

 

[MMHS]

QG team was poor - Sarfu was punching above the weight with this lot. At Sharjah, hardly any captain will defend 150 with Gulu, Annu, Piru, Nawaz & that kid. It's basically 2 types of bowlers - Annu & Gulu are identical, so are the spin pair & Piru is no type.

BUT, he has to improve his keeping - haven't seen the match, but from PP I understand that he has lost this match for dropping a sitter. That is the reason he was irritated today - he could realize what he has done. This is the problem with WK Captain who is not good at his primary job - keeping errors impact his Captaincy.

With similar combination & KP playing like tailender, I'll be surprised if QG wins any further match this year. They got LQ in an off day & got the chance to chase against KK, but it's not a good unit - and then they are opening with Asad!!!!

 

[Hamza_]

QG team was poor - Sarfu was punching above the weight with this lot. At Sharjah, hardly any captain will defend 150 with Gulu, Annu, Piru, Nawaz & that kid. It's basically 2 types of bowlers - Annu & Gulu are identical, so are the spin pair & Piru is no type.

BUT, he has to improve his keeping - haven't seen the match, but from PP I understand that he has lost this match for dropping a sitter. That is the reason he was irritated today - he could realize what he has done. This is the problem with WK Captain who is not good at his primary job - keeping errors impact his Captaincy.

With similar combination & KP playing like tailender, I'll be surprised if QG wins any further match this year. They got LQ in an off day & got the chance to chase against KK, but it's not a good unit - and then they are opening with Asad!!!!

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] They should open with Umar Amin in next match.

 

[MMHS]

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] They should open with Umar Amin in next match.

He is from Pindi - I think his choice of team was unfortunate. Should have stayed at North, but in draft you don't choose your team.

Ideally, I'll try Ahmed & Amin pair even for PAK ODI/T20 now. They opened together at U19 level (Umar as well) quite successfully but all 3 were lost in couple of years in domestic. Babar was going in same route, as I am sure some buzurg had feared him for "new ball" on those dead slow tracks & he went to no. 5.

Amin is a confidence player - if he is played, he must have to score decent in first outing, otherwise you'll see telephone numbers in later matches from him.