From ‘Sarfaraz dhoka nahi dega’ to ‘Sarfaraz should resign’, Pakistan’s captain has come under fire for a number of reasons…
There were murmurs about his captaincy not being up to par even before the Asia Cup but since that dismal tournament, the discussions have only gained momentum. Sarfaraz Ahmed is the current captain of the Pakistani team in all the three formats. Sarfi took over as the T20I captain for Pakistan following the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup and Pakistan is yet to lose a T20 series under his captaincy. He was named the ODI captain in February 2017 after Azhar Ali stepped down. To cap it off, he became Test captain as well after Misbah’s retirement. It is true that Pakistan has been performing well in the T20Is under his captaincy. There are justifiable doubts, however, regarding his captaincy being fit for other formats.
Last night's victory against Scotland was Sarfraz Ahmed's 18th as Pakistan T20I captain – no-one has a better win percentage as captain! #howzstat #SCOvPAK pic.twitter.com/nA1ywiF8co
— ICC (@ICC) June 13, 2018
Captain Sarfaraz has an aggressive leadership style and is notorious for it. His aggression is often seen on the field when things are not going his way. It’s the same style that was being appreciated for motivating the team just a few months ago. But the team’s disappointing performance in the recently concluded Asia Cup has raised questions over his approach. Has he become too strict? Too short-tempered? Where he was once applauded for leading the team fiercely, he is now being criticized for being too aggressive and pushing his team too hard.
Sarfaraz has also failed to impress with his decision-making as of late. Choosing to play the wrong bowler at the wrong time and opting for defensive cricket when there’s a need for urgency are just two examples from his stack of poor choices. It is safe to say that these inept decisions played a major role in Pakistan’s Asia Cup disaster.
Moving on to a more recent match, the first Test between Pakistan and Australia looked completely in Pakistan’s favour until Usman Khawaja’s spectacular innings turned the game around. Sarfaraz Ahmed is once again being criticized for playing too defensively and giving the opposition a chance to turn the game around.
You can’t win if you have fear of failure. Pakistan team, specially Sarfaraz Ahmed, must come out of this fear of failure.
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) October 11, 2018
Should Sarfaraz Ahmed be sacked as captain?
To say Sarfaraz should be ousted based on the last few performances might be a little too harsh. The fact remains that the team suffered a setback in the Asia Cup and it needs to recover. However, a knee-jerk reaction is definitely not the need of the time.
Sarfaraz might not be getting it right at the moment but he is the captain who brought gold home. The captain who can take the lowest ranked team in the tournament to the top must possess some potential. What Sarfaraz needs to do right now is look at his mistakes and learn from them. He must learn to use aggression where needed and stay calm otherwise. Moreover, he needs to focus on his batting, which has considerably deteriorated since he assumed captaincy. It’s time he worked on his own performance to truly lead by example.
Some still believe Sarfaraz should only captain the limited over formats which his captaincy is better suited to. But the question is – if not Sarfaraz, then who? Who from the current lot looks like a better option for this burdensome position?