Reports: PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani called up Sarfaraz Ahmed after Pakistan’s defeat to India

Pakistan has had a terrible campaign in the 2019 World Cup, having lost three out of their five matches. The Men in Green are placed ninth on the points table with three points from five matches. One of their matches versus Sri Lanka in Bristol got abandoned. To add insult to injury, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Co slumped to a defeat at the hands of India by 89 runs (DLS Method) at the Old Trafford in Manchester.

After Rohit Sharma’s awe-inspiring 140 followed by KL Rahul and Virat Kohli’s half-centuries, the Pakistan batsmen couldn’t put up much of a fight. Pakistan lost their seventh match versus their arch-rivals in the history of the mega event, remaining winless. Subsequently, Sarfaraz and Co were recipients of criticism on social media. Skipper Sarfaraz, in particular, was the main target of angry responses.

Mani’s words of wisdom for Sarfaraz Ahmed

In the meantime, it has been learned that Ehsan Mani, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) called the 32-year-old Sarfaraz and tried to motivate him as the tournament is not yet over for the team. As per reports in thenews.com.pk, Mani assured Sarfaraz that the whole nation is beside the team and it needs to focus on the upcoming four matches rather than dwelling on what happened in the past.

The report also mentioned that Mani asked Sarfaraz to not divulge his attention on media stories and advised him to keep his cool and lead Pakistan to an improved show in the rest of the mega event. Pakistan’s upcoming contest is versus South Africa on June 23 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. It goes without saying that the Men in Green are in a must-win scenario and can’t afford goof-ups.

As far as the criticism is concerned, the fans questioned their fitness standards. The fact that Shoaib Malik and some other cricketers enjoyed at the Shisha Lounge the night before the marquee clash added fuel to fire. Moreover, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar labelled Sarfaraz a ‘brainless captain’.

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At this point in time, the moral of the Pakistan team would be at the rock bottom, but bearing in mind the unpredictable brand of cricket they play, one can’t afford to rule them out of the World Cup just yet. Pakistan also needs the results of the other games to go in their favour in order for them to move to the semis.