Sarfraz Ahmed talks about the Champions Trophy final

India-Pakistan is the biggest rivalry in cricket. Even in a normal fixture between the two sides pressure is immense for both the teams and if the match is Champions Trophy final, stakes will be higher than ever. Pressure would be felt by players on either side who would be carrying expectations of their respective nations in the match. The pressure would be enormous on the Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed too, who seemed relaxed in an interview ahead of the final.

Sarfraz Ahmed said that Pakistan will give their best

Sarfaraz has played a major role in the Pakistan team’s journey to the final of the Champions Trophy. He had an unenviable task of lifting spirits of a team which was down on confidence after a damaging defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals India. Sarfraz said that they will try their best and won’t allow pressure to stop them.

In an interview with The Telegraph, he preferred not to answer questions related to the match on Sunday but he seemed ready to talk about his captaincy and preferences.

The wicketkeeper-batsman said that Imran Khan who is one of Pakistan’s best cricketing leaders is his favourite captain. He also talked about the rave comparisons made between him and Javed Miandad. Sarfraz said that Miandad is too big a player, and it would wrong to compare himself with the batting great.

Talking about the future

Former Pakistan captain Mushtaq Mohammad had once said that Pakistan is only two world-class players short of becoming a very formidable team again. Sarfraz’s response to that was ” Inshallah woh players zaroor Milenge.”

The Pakistan squad is scheduled to have a dinner with PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan. Sarfraz is one of the favourites to become the Test captain, replacing the retired Misbah-ul-Haq. Pakistan’s next Test series is against Sri Lanka in October, but that is certainly something Sarfraz wouldn’t be thinking about at this point in time.