Pakistan batter claims he asked Babar Azam and Saqlain Mushtaq to not play him for New Zealand series
Pakistan Cricket saw a memorable comeback in the white flannels from Sarfaraz Ahmed. He scored 335 runs in the two matches against New Zealand at an average of 83.75 and at a strike rate of 65.17. He scored three fifties and one hundred against the Kiwis at home.
But, here is the tale behind how Sarfaraz came back into the Pakistan Test side. Former Pakistan selector Sikander Bakht had said that Mohammad Rizwan had made a controversial statement saying, “I will never let Sarfaraz come back into the Pakistan team”. I may be wrong, Bakht said on the statement later. He had talked about that statement on Geo Super.
But, Rizwan talked about the Inside story which led to Sarfaraz Ahmed’s comeback into the Test side. “You can ask the head coach Saqlain Mushtaq what I told him after the end of the England Test series,” Rizwan told Cricket Pakistan. “I was happy to see Sarfaraz perform because that is what I wanted. I personally thought that since I wasn’t able to perform, I didn’t deserve to play in the next series.”
Whoever performas best for Pakistan deserves to play- Mohammad Rizwan
He said that when the incident happened, the happening was witnessed by a couple of players. “I went to the coach and captain myself and told them that you can drop me because I haven’t performed. Two players are witnesses to this conversation.”
“Sarfaraz has been performing in domestic cricket and deserves his chance now,” Rizwan said. “So I was happy to see Sarfaraz perform because I asked for his inclusion. Whoever performs best for Pakistan deserves to play.” In the Test series against Pakistan, the Kiwis drew both the Tests with the Men in Green and it ended in a stalemate.
“Sarfaraz will not play now. Our cricket community is quite small, so we get to know a lot of things. A cricketer who does programmes with us told us that Rizwan said, “main Sarfaraz ko kabhi aane nahi doonga” (I won’t let Sarfaraz return to the Pakistan team). That’s because when Sarfaraz was there, he didn’t let Rizwan play. So now it’s the opposite. This is what I have heard. I might be wrong,” Bakht had once told Geo Super.
Related Posts
