Pakistan: Imran Khan advices Sarfaraz Ahmed to 'focus on domestic cricket'

Prime Minister Imran Khan has advised former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed to focus on domestic cricket in order to make a comeback in the national side. After being sacked as Pakistan's skipper, Sarfaraz Ahmed was also omitted from the Test and T20I squads to face Australia. Backing Sarfaraz Ahmed, Khan said that a player's form should not be judged by T20 cricket. 

"I don't think the performance and form of a player should be judged by T20 cricket but through Test and One-day cricket. He can come back to the national team, he should focus on domestic cricket," Khan said when asked about Sarfaraz.

Pakistan Super League (PSL) team Islamabad United has recently appointed former captain Misbah-ul-Haq as the head coach.   Khan, the patron-in-chief of Pakistan Cricket Board and a former captain, backed the appointment of Misbah-ul-Haq as head coach and chief selector and said, "It is a constructive move to appoint Misbah as he is an honest and unbiased personality who has loads of experience behind him. "I think Misbah will turn out to be a good choice and Pakistan will improve and do well in Test and ODI cricket under him. He has this talent in him that he can groom the players and also improve their performance," he added.

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Sarfaraz finds no place for the Australian tour

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had announced their 16-man squad for the upcoming Test and T20Is against Australia. However, Sarfaraz Ahmed failed to consolidate his place in either of the squads. Former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who is the head coach, as well as the chief selector of the national team, said that the Australian tour will present the players with different and exciting challenges. 

Pakistan will be visiting Australia for three T20Is which will be followed by a two-match Test series from November 3 to December 3, 2019. 

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(With agency inputs)