Published 11:33 IST, November 18th 2019
Imran Khan advises sacked captain Sarfaraz Ahmed on how to make international comeback
Imran Khan advises Sarfaraz Ahmed who was sacked from Pakistan cricket team’s captaincy to focus on domestic cricket for making a comeback to the national team.
Pakistan cricketer Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was sacked from the national cricket team’s captaincy last month and subsequently dropped from the ongoing tour of Australia, was advised on Sunday by the country's prime minister and 1992 World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan to focus on domestic cricket in order to make his way back into the national team.
Sarfaraz should focus on domestic cricket: Imran Khan
When asked about Sarfaraz, the Pakistan PM said that he did not think the performance and form of a player should be judged by T20 cricket but through Test and One-Day Cricket. Imran added that it was possible for Sarfaraz to come back into the team, only if he performs well in domestic cricket. Sarfaraz Ahmed was sacked from the national captaincy after Pakistan embarrassingly lost 0-3 to Sri Lanka in their home T20I series, despite the visitors largely fielding a second-string side and the hosts being ranked World No.1 in T20I cricket.
Imran Khan, who is also the patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) due to being the Prime Minister, has also backed the appointment of Misbah-ul-Haq as head coach and chief selector.
According to PTI, Imran said it was a constructive move to appoint Misbah as he was an honest and unbiased personality who had loads of experience behind him. He added that Misbah would turn out to be a good choice and Pakistan will improve in Test and ODI cricket under him. The former Pakistan captain went on to say that he had talent in him to groom players and bring out the best in them.
Imran Khan also supported the new domestic first-class season in which only six provincial teams were competing on home and away basis and said eventually it would lead to a better cricket system in the country. He noted that there was already some improvement in domestic cricket and hoped it will get better which will help Pakistan cricket to get better.
Updated 13:03 IST, November 18th 2019