Pakistan great Zaheer Abbas makes a bold statement on skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed

Sarfaraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, has been on the cosh for quite some time now. Before the World Cup, he didn’t have a pleasant time with the national team, especially in the ODI format. However, the selectors persisted with him for the mega event. Though the Men in Green won their last four games, they finished fifth and failed to qualify for the semi-final.

The same is for the reason that Pakistan could only manage a solitary victory in their first five matches. Amidst the poor show, Sarfaraz was severely criticized. The situation heated up to such an extent that Sarfaraz had to plead to the supporters to not abuse the players. After the indifferent campaign, there have been speculations over Sarfaraz’s future as the skipper.

It will help ease the pressure on Sarfraz

Some reports suggest that he will be stripped of leadership entirely, while a few state that he will be the captain in fewer formats. In the meantime, Zaheer Abbas, the former Pakistan cricketer, mentioned that Sarfaraz cannot remain as captain in all the three formats and should rather focus on his form.

“As far as Sarfaraz Ahmed’s captaincy is concerned, I think he must relinquish either the Test captaincy or ODI and T20 captaincy to focus on his own form. It will help ease the pressure on Sarfaraz, the team and the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board),” Abbas was quoted as saying in The Nation.

Abbas also sounded critical of the domestic structure and was clear cut in saying that it needs a complete revamp. Furthermore, he focussed on the importance of Test cricket and the significance of producing top-class players for the traditional format of the sport.

“Pakistan needs to appoint a full-time vice-captain keep in mind its long-term future. The vice-captain must be groomed for [captaining in the future]. Test cricket is a very important aspect of the game. We need to focus on producing top-class players for the longer format of the game. It is high time the PCB introduce revolutionary steps and implement a new domestic structure,” he added.

As far as Sarfaraz is concerned, he might not remain the skipper as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is mulling the idea of split captaincy. Fresh applications for the national team coach and support staff will also be discussed upon when the PCB Cricket Committee meets on August 2.