Pakistani skipper Sarfraz Ahmed wants more teams to tour Pakistan

After the Champions Trophy triumph, the Pakistani players found themselves in great demand. Many different teams wanted to get their signatures. Next month, the World XI would tour Pakistan. All these happenings lead Pakistani skipper Sarfraz Ahmed to believe that international cricket is on its way back to the cricket crazy nation of Pakistan.

While the youngsters Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali are ruling the Caribbean Premier League, veterans Mohammad Amir and Sarfraz Ahmed are plying their trade in the English county competition. Sarfraz is currently playing for the Yorkshire team in NatWest T20 Blast. The 30-year-old has been handed the responsibility of leading the side in all the three formats.

The man from Karachi wants to build on the great work done by former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq. “The way he took on the role in 2010 under those circumstances and built the team and took them forward was just incredible. To then take the team to No 1 in the Test rankings was nothing short of miraculous. I played under Misbah for a couple of years and I learnt a lot from the way he lead and the way he captained the side and how he planned session by session. My aim is to build on the great work that Misbah did with the Pakistan Test team and carry that forward. If I can carry on the great work that Misbah did, that would be a major achievement for me,” said Sarfraz in an interview with PakPassion.

The Pakistani team will face the World XI side in T20I series, which will be played in Pakistan. Sarfraz hopes that such a tour will encourage more countries to tour the cricket starved nation. “The World Eleven hopefully coming to Lahore next month is a great and positive sign for Pakistan cricket and for the future of the game in Pakistan. I am really hopeful that this series goes ahead and I hope that this series is a huge success. I’m hopeful that once the World Eleven has toured Pakistan it will be the catalyst for more tours by cricketing nations to Pakistan,” said Sarfraz.

Umar Akmal is an asset to the team

Umar Akmal showed glimpses of talent but never could actually perform up to his potential. Even after getting selected for the Champions Trophy, he was dropped owing to lack of fitness. But the batsman is now focussed on getting his shape and composure back and his skipper Sarfraz wants him to do that as well, he feels Umar is an asset to the team.

“As professional cricketers, we have a platform and a chance to show our skills to the world. It’s the same for all of us, myself and anybody else and Umar Akmal is no different. I hope he works hard, I hope he improves his fitness and I really hope he makes a comeback to the Pakistan team once again as when on song, he is an asset for the team,” concluded Sarfraz.