After his second ‘home’ series defeat in the UAE in as many seasons, Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed said he is beginning to consider giving up captaincy, at least in the longest format.
New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 123 runs in the third and final Test in Abu Dhabi to secure a 2-1 series victory – their first away series win over Pakistan in 49 years.
Pakistan had earlier lost 2-0 to Sri Lanka in the UAE late last year. Sarfraz’s record in Test cricket now reads five defeats in 10 matches as skipper, with four wins and a draw. With a tough Test series in South Africa coming up, Sarfraz said he knows the pressure is on his leadership.
“It’s a very disappointing series loss for us,” said Sarfraz. “We had our chances but we could not grab them.
“If you talk of the first Test we bowled them out for a low score but did not take a big lead. Here too we did not take a big lead and had to pay for that.”
Pakistan play a one-day warm-up match in South Africa before the first of three Tests in Centurion on December 26. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for Sarfraz to sort things out.
“Look, when it (series defeat) happens then one thinks on that (captaincy),” said Sarfraz. “But before an important tour of South Africa if you think like that, then it’s not beneficial for the team.
“If I think that I am making mistakes and if the Pakistan team is not winning because of me, then I will think about getting away from it. And if there is someone else who is better suited for the captaincy of the Pakistan team, then I will do.”
