'Visibly upset' Sarfaraz Ahmed verbally abuses his teammate during PSL exhibition match

Former Pakistan cricket team captain Sarfaraz Ahmed led Quetta Gladiators to win over Pakistan Super League (PSL) side Peshawar Zalmi in an exhibition match on Sunday. Despite the three-run victory, the Quetta skipper is making headlines for unfavorable reasons. As per a report by Cricket Pakistan, the 35-year-old was heard verbally abusing one of his teammate during Sunday’s game.

As per the report, the incident took place in the fourth over of Zalmi’s innings, when bowler Aimal Khan conceded a four to Mohammad Haris. As the events unfolded, Sarfaraz can be heard abusing his teammate in the background. It was understood that the captain was visibly upset because Peshawar had reached 40/0 by the time the incident happened.

"How Sarfaraz has been treating Quetta’s bowlers from behind the stumps"

It is pertinent to mention that the former Pakistan captain has been involved in similar incidents in the past of shouting at his own players. He was earlier criticized by several cricketers and fans for his emotional outbursts towards his own teammates. Speaking to Cricket Pakistan in an interview in 2021, Lahore Qalandars head coach Aaqib Javed revealed an interesting incident. 

Javed said that he had once complained about Sarfaraz’s behaviour to umpire Aleem Dar. "I told Aleem Dar about how Sarfaraz has been treating Quetta’s bowlers from behind the stumps. I don’t know how they endure these abuses and insults. No code of conduct applies to him for abusing players in the open?," he said.

Earlier last year, the former Pakistani skipper was fined for using inappropriate language in the National T20 Cup. The incident took place during the match against Balochistan after he was dismissed by Kashif Bhatti at the point. He was charged under the Article 2.3 of PCB, which reads, “Use of audible obscenity”. Sarfaraz will be leading Quetta in the upcoming PSL season, scheduled to begin from February 3.

Sarfaraz has recently made headlines last month for scoring his first Test century for Pakistan in over eight years. He scored 78 off 109 balls in the first innings of the match against New Zealand in Karachi. He then followed up with a 118-run knock in the second innings.