Sarfaraz Ahmed – the current Quetta Gladiators and the former Pakistan cricket team captain has recently come under a lot of fire regarding his captaincy. Three title wins in his record attest to the fact that he is indeed a good team leader. But the question arises that is the same aggressive approach now costing him wins?
Sarfaraz Ahmed’s Frustration on the field
Whether it was last year’s Pakistan Super League or this year’s, one thing that stayed constant was the QG captain getting truculent and scolding his bowlers over and over again. Even when he isn’t present at the field, his expressions caught by the cameraman depict that the game isn’t treating him well. Sarfaraz clearly doesn’t seem content with his team’s performance and that translates into his over-the-top captaincy.
The Reasons Behind All of This
If one was to guess the cause behind his meltdowns, there could be more than one. Is it because he was removed from the T20I captaincy? or because he has been traveling with the Pakistan Cricket Team as a second wicket-keeper? Some say he hasn’t gotten a chance to play in the green jersey again while it is also believed that his chances of making a comeback in the national team seem minute. Quetta Gladiators last year’s abysmal performance gives him flashbacks and he doesn’t want the history to report. He is being consistently criticized by former cricketers on TV shows. There is a possibility that his reactions and behavior could be a mixture of all of the reasons and this is why seems a bit extreme.
Was taking away the captaincy badge from Sarfaraz Ahmed an unfair decision?
If there is one Pakistani captain that holds impeccable T20I achievements under his leadership umbrella, it’s most definitely Sarfaraz Ahmed.
He took over the captaincy from the veteran Shahid Afridi in 2016. As a captain, he not only registered 11 consecutive series wins which makes him the most successful Pakistan captain until date but he also took the boys in green to No.1 from No.7 in T20I. These feats were applauded by all. Moreover, the record of best winning percentage as a captain also belongs to him.
Coming to his individual stats, he was able to score 521 runs and his career-best score of 89 not out.
Things started to look a little dull for him when the shaheens suffered their first series loss after 3 years in 2019 against the Proteas. Unfortunately, Sarfaraz Ahmed couldn’t make a comeback as a figurehead especially after Sri Lanka whitewashed Pakistan.
Despite all of this, numerous people feel that the gladiator was wrongfully removed and his record spoke for itself. However, various people also believe that Babar Azam has not only been performing brilliantly as a batter but also as a skipper. So, everything turned out for the best.
Will his current performance allow him to make a comeback?
Out of the three matches that his team has played until now in PSL, Sarfaraz Ahmed’s turn to bat came twice. He scored a total of 21 runs in both matches. If we look at the current scenario, Pakistan has found a perfect wicket-keeper batsman in Mohammad Rizwan and no one would be willing to see him replaced. However, if Sarfaraz focuses on his performance, starts scoring runs and making a mark, his luck may start shining. For gladiators, it would mean coming on the right track and performing like they used to. For him, it would mean increasing his chances of a comeback.
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