If the world had ended in 2012 accordingly
to the Mayans prophecy, then history would had proclaimed that Sarfraz Ahmed
was a keeper who could not hold a bat; was someone who would come at no.7 or 8
and walk back to the dressing room in the same over he arrives at.
Fast-Forward to 2016, and people will tell you that Sarfraz Ahmed is an aggressive wicket keeper batsmen, who knows how to accumulate and build an innings. Infact, some cricket experts and pundits will go to an extent to say that he is the best wicket keeper batsmen in international cricket currently.
However, those who have been watching the game from 2007 onwards can’t forget the international cricket start which Sarfraz had.
During his initial international days, Sarfraz looked as if he didn’t know how to score runs. Even if he did get a couple of over’s to play, he would only defend the ball and not try to score runs. He was usually in and out of the team. His good keeping skills and Kamran Akmal’s atrocious were the reason why an SOS call would be given to Sarfraz from time to time.
It wasn’t until the 2012 Asia Cup where Sarfraz scored an unbeaten 46, (the highest score that day which helped us win the final) and showed that he could not only hold a bat, but could score some runs as well. But the nervousness was still existent even then.
Fast-Forward to 2016, and people will tell you that Sarfraz Ahmed is an aggressive wicket keeper batsmen, who knows how to accumulate and build an innings. Infact, some cricket experts and pundits will go to an extent to say that he is the best wicket keeper batsmen in international cricket currently.
However, those who have been watching the game from 2007 onwards can’t forget the international cricket start which Sarfraz had.
During his initial international days, Sarfraz looked as if he didn’t know how to score runs. Even if he did get a couple of over’s to play, he would only defend the ball and not try to score runs. He was usually in and out of the team. His good keeping skills and Kamran Akmal’s atrocious were the reason why an SOS call would be given to Sarfraz from time to time.
It wasn’t until the 2012 Asia Cup where Sarfraz scored an unbeaten 46, (the highest score that day which helped us win the final) and showed that he could not only hold a bat, but could score some runs as well. But the nervousness was still existent even then.
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| Sarfraz Ahmed and other team captains with the Asia Cup trophy |
After a few more ODI’s, Sarfraz was again ousted, and his career seem to be at the end as other keepers were being given try outs due to their better batting ability.
Then in February 2014, Moin Khan was named the Head coach of Pakistan Cricket team. It was he who bought the discarded keeper back into the team amid over the cries of not too amongst fans.
Under Moin Khan’s care, Sarfraz trained hard both as a keeper and as a batsmen; with Moin’s backing in team selection, Sarfraz gained that confidence which he had been lacking ever since came into the international arena.
The first glimpse of the new Sarfraz was shown in the Australia series which was played in the UAE. Sarfraz had managed to score 34, 65, and 32 in the three match series. As these were the highest any keeper had scored at the time, it was enough to keep Safraz in the ODI team. The Australia series was followed by the New Zealand series in the same venues, where Sarfraz had managed scores of 2o above.
At the time it was not the scores which the fans really cared about, it was the way Sarfraz had started to approach his batting against the bowlers. The new Sarfraz seemed to attack the bowler’s upfront in comparison to the old Sarfraz who just blocked and didn’t know what to do. Infact, no one in the team had the confidence or ability to go against the opposition bowling the way Sarfraz did.
The 2015 World Cup took place at Austaralia, and there were doubts whether Sarfraz would be able to score runs, thus he was not seen in the initial games; until he was bought against South Africa where he scored a gutsy innings of 49, followed by his first 100 against Ireland which bought him praises from all over the world.
The improvement in his batting was enough for the fans and the PCB to believe that Sarfraz could keep a permanent spot in the team, and thus the vice captaincy post was given to him.
From then onwards, Sarfraz has improved, not only as a batsmen, not only as a keeper, but as an overall player.
He was given the captaincy of the Quetta Gladiators who were the under dogs of the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL). However, under Sarfraz’s captaincy, the team reached the finals of the PSL and gave a tough fight to the eventual winners, Islamabad United, which was being led by the Test Captain Misbah ul Haq.
Though it was not Misbah who had been receiving the praises, it was Sarfraz Ahmed, who lead an underdog team straight into the finals.
Eventually, after the debacle captaincy of Shahid Afridi in the 2016 World T20, Sarfraz Ahmed was made captain of the Pakistani T20 team, and then afterwards made the Pakistani ODI captain.
Then in February 2014, Moin Khan was named the Head coach of Pakistan Cricket team. It was he who bought the discarded keeper back into the team amid over the cries of not too amongst fans.
Under Moin Khan’s care, Sarfraz trained hard both as a keeper and as a batsmen; with Moin’s backing in team selection, Sarfraz gained that confidence which he had been lacking ever since came into the international arena.
The first glimpse of the new Sarfraz was shown in the Australia series which was played in the UAE. Sarfraz had managed to score 34, 65, and 32 in the three match series. As these were the highest any keeper had scored at the time, it was enough to keep Safraz in the ODI team. The Australia series was followed by the New Zealand series in the same venues, where Sarfraz had managed scores of 2o above.
At the time it was not the scores which the fans really cared about, it was the way Sarfraz had started to approach his batting against the bowlers. The new Sarfraz seemed to attack the bowler’s upfront in comparison to the old Sarfraz who just blocked and didn’t know what to do. Infact, no one in the team had the confidence or ability to go against the opposition bowling the way Sarfraz did.
The 2015 World Cup took place at Austaralia, and there were doubts whether Sarfraz would be able to score runs, thus he was not seen in the initial games; until he was bought against South Africa where he scored a gutsy innings of 49, followed by his first 100 against Ireland which bought him praises from all over the world.
The improvement in his batting was enough for the fans and the PCB to believe that Sarfraz could keep a permanent spot in the team, and thus the vice captaincy post was given to him.
From then onwards, Sarfraz has improved, not only as a batsmen, not only as a keeper, but as an overall player.
He was given the captaincy of the Quetta Gladiators who were the under dogs of the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL). However, under Sarfraz’s captaincy, the team reached the finals of the PSL and gave a tough fight to the eventual winners, Islamabad United, which was being led by the Test Captain Misbah ul Haq.
Though it was not Misbah who had been receiving the praises, it was Sarfraz Ahmed, who lead an underdog team straight into the finals.
Eventually, after the debacle captaincy of Shahid Afridi in the 2016 World T20, Sarfraz Ahmed was made captain of the Pakistani T20 team, and then afterwards made the Pakistani ODI captain.
Sarfraz Ahmed would than later lead a bunch of misfits in the champions trophy of 2017. But right in the first match, the team ended up losing to India by 124 runs. It was soon after this match that pundits from all over the world would talk about how Pakistan cricket had regressed. How once the team that fielded the likes of Waseem Akram, Imran Khan, or Inzamam, couldn’t even now compete in a tournament anymore.
It seemed, the pundits and experts were too early in their criticism as right after this match, Sarfraz would lead the team into beating South Africa, Sri Lanka and then England. In the finals, they were again pitted with India, but the tables had turned. Pakistan would end up scoring 338 while India barely managed to get 158 runs.
The wicket keeper who was once known not for not being able to hold a bat to even save his own life ended up leading Pakistan to its only Champions Trophy Championship.
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