PAK vs NZ: Babar Azam opines on Sarfaraz Ahmed's long-wait for Pakistan comeback

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has said that he has absolutely no regrets over snubbing veteran wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed from the national team over the last four years. Sarfaraz scored 335 runs in four innings in the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand. He had scored a match-saving 118 during the second innings of the high-octane second match.

Notably, Sarfaraz Ahmed got a chance of making a comeback to the Pakistan team after Najam Sethi took charge as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman and former skipper Shahid Afridi’s appointment as the interim chief selector.

During the press conference after the second Test against New Zealand, a reporter had asked Babar Azam whether Sarfaraz deserved to play in the three Test series against England that had preceded the red-ball series against the Black Caps.

"Sarfaraz ko chaar saal chance nahi mila. Lekin jab usko chance mila, usne apni selection prove ki. Usne sirf century nahi banai balki Pakistan ki izzat bachaayi. Aap nhi samajte ki usko England ke series mein bhi chance milna chahiye tha? Kya aapko pachhtawa hai ki wo char saal ke liye team par nahi tha? (Sarfaraz didn't get a chance to play for four years but when he did, he proved his selection. He not only scored a century but also saved Pakistan’s prestige. Do you think he should have got a chance in the series against England and do you regret that he wasn't part of the team for four years?)," the journalist asked. 

"Bilkul maine pehle bhi jab test match ki press conference thi, maine uss waqt bhi kaha tha ki jis tarah uss bande ne wait kiya, uss bande ne himmat nahi haari. Dedication se apni training, wicketkeeping, batting voh karta raha hai. Usne wait kiya aur execute kiye apne plans. Mushkil situation mein batting ki aur team ko nikala. Yahi ek senior player ki nishani hoti hai ki mushkil time mein voh aapko different innings khel ke de. Dream comeback tha unke liye (As I mentioned before in the Test match presser, the way he waited, he didn't lose hope. He did all his training, wicket-keeping and batting with dedication and executed his plans when he got a chance. He played a great knock in a crunch situation and that's a hallmark of an experienced player. It was a dream comeback for sure.)," Babar responded. 

After the 2019 World Cup, Ahmed was sacked as captain, with Mohammad Rizwan taking over the wicketkeeping gloves from him across formats. Howver, he was selected as a second-choice wicketkeeper-batter after that, but didn't make it to the playing XI. 

Sarfaraz Ahmed makes a successful Test comeback

However, Sarfaraz toiled hard in the domestic circuit for all these years and it was ahead of the New Zealand Test series that his hard work paid off and he was recalled by the selectors ahead of regular wicketkeeper-batter Rizwan who was dropped from the series.

Apart from his match-defining 118, Azam remained consistent throughout the series as he scored in all the three innings prior to that. While he registered scores of 86 and 53 in both innings of the first Test, he went on to score 78 in the first innings of the second Test.

The 35-year-old was adjudged the Player of the Match and Series for his stupendous batting performances.

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