Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been facing some tough questions from the media in recent times. The year 2022 was below-par as the captain, especially in Test cricket. And consequently, Pakistan failed to qualify for the final of the Test Championship. Apart from this, they could not win even a single Test against Australia, England, and New Zealand at home.
Mohammad Rizwan’s form in red-ball cricket deteriorated and former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed got a chance to make a comeback against New Zealand. Sarfaraz grabbed this opportunity with both hands and scored three half-centuries and one century in four innings. Before the ODI series against New Zealand, Babar Azam was asked by a journalist if he regretted not feeding Sarfaraz for four years. Captain Babar Azam gave a befitting reply to this, the video went viral.
Watch the video here:
🗣️ "He executed his plans well and rescued the team from difficult situations."
Babar Azam responds to a question on Sarfaraz Ahmed.#PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/vinRUI8YIM
— Grassroots Cricket (@grassrootscric) January 8, 2023
The journalist asked, “Usne Pakistan ki izzat bachaayi. Aap nhi samajte ki usko England ke series par bhi chance milna chahiye tha? Aapkp pachtawa hai ki wo char saal ke liye team par nahi tha? (He saved Pakistan’s pride. Do you think he should have got a chance in the series vs England and do you regret that he wasn’t part of the team for four years?)”
“Nahi, mujhe koi pachtawa nahi (No. I don’t have any regrets)”, Babar simply replied.
He is our main wicketkeeper: Shahid Afridi on Rizwan
PCB interim chief selector Shahid Afridi revealed in a press conference that Mohammad Rizwan will still be Pakistan’s main wicketkeeper in both T20Is and ODIs, which could end Sarfaraz’s hopes of making it into the World Cup squad. Notably, Sarfaraz was not included in the squad for the three-match ODI series vs New Zealand.
“I’m very happy that Saifi has made a comeback and given such an amazing performance, but Mohammad Rizwan is available and he is our main wicket-keeper in both T20Is and ODIs”, Afridi was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
“God forbid if Rizwan gets injured or if he’s tired, we’ll then consider other options. Let’s not mix someone’s Test performance with that of limited overs”, he further added.
