Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis never liked Sarfaraz Ahmed, says Moin Khan

Pakistan cricket has found itself in a fresh crisis after its long-serving captain across formats Sarfaraz Ahmed was shown the door on Friday, even from the team. Azhar Ali was made the captain in Tests while T20I vice-captain Babar Azam took over as the skipper in the shortest format. The decision on ODIs was still to be taken as Pakistan will be playing their next series only in July 2020.

As Pakistan’s cricketing circles debated the ouster of Sarfaraz who won his country its second-biggest trophy in the 50-over format in the form of the Champions Trophy in 2017, former captain and wicket-keeper Moin Khan came up with an explosive claim. According to the member of Pakistan’s World Cup-winning team of 1992, current head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis had always had a disliking for Sarfaraz.

“Misbah and Waqar never liked Sarfaraz. I am shocked that the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) has removed Sarfaraz from captaincy in T20 cricket. He has led Pakistan to 11 consecutive T20 series wins and you can’t remove him due to [a] few poor performances,” the 48-year-old Moin was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s ARY News.

Sarfaraz is the most successful captain Pakistan has produced in the T20Is as he has led his team to 29 wins out of 37 games. The captain who has led Pakistan most number of times in the same format is, however, Shahid Afridi (43). Pakistan are currently the No.1 team in T20Is although they suffered a humiliating 0-3 loss to a second-string Sri Lanka team in their own backyard recently.

Making Misbah both head coach and chief selector a mistake, feels Moin Khan

Moin also felt that the PCB made a big mistake by appointing Misbah as both the head coach and chief selector as that gave the former captain, who retired only in 2017, too much power. “I think making a single person too powerful won’t work for Pakistan’s cricket,” he added.

The PCB leadership recently cited Sarfaraz’s poor batting form as a reason for his ouster although the fans were divided over the hasty manner in which the 32-year-old was removed from not only the top position but also the team.

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