'Sarfaraz should've been given more time' - Inzamam-ul-Haq feels Pakistan played under pressure in 2019 World Cup

It was a forgetful 2019 World Cup for Pakistan as the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side finished fifth in a group stage by winning five matches out of nine, failing to advance in the semi-finals. Many Pakistan players including skipper Sarfaraz were scrutinized for their performances at the showpiece event.

Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, who remained chief selector of the national side from 2016 till the 2019 World Cup, reflected back on the mega-event and said that there was a sense of insecurity among players during that period.

According to Inzamam, Sarfaraz should’ve been given more time as the skipper of the team. Captains need to be backed as they get better with time, opined Inzamam, who donned the Pakistan jersey in 120 Tests, 378 ODIs and a solitary T20I.

“Even in the last World Cup, I felt the captain and players were under pressure because they were thinking if we don’t do well in the tournament we will be out. That environment was created and this is not good for cricket,” the Pakistan stalwart told a TV channel as quoted by Outlook.

“Sarfaraz achieved some notable victories for Pakistan and was learning to be a good captain but unfortunately when he had learnt from experience and mistakes he was removed as captain,” he added.

Sarfaraz Ahmed got us some good wins: Inzamam-ul-Haq

After Inzamam was replaced by head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, PCB sidelined Sarfaraz Ahmed along with removing him as the skipper from all formats. 50-year-old Inzamam, the most capped player for Pakistan, said that Sarfaraz’s own performance dipped as he had to focus a lot on other players too. At present, Azhar Ali has been assigned the Test captaincy while Babar Azam is at the helm in white-ball formats.

“Sarfaraz won us the Champions Trophy and also made the team number one in T20 cricket. He got us some good wins. He should have been given more time as captain by the board but it acted in haste and didn’t give him confidence or patience,” said Inzamam.

Inzamam also pointed out that people praise Imran Khan’s leadership qualities and captaincy but he also won the World Cup on his third attempt as captain.

“He won the 1992 World Cup because by that time he had become a seasoned captain and learnt to motivate his players and get them to fight in every match,” he said.