Sarfraz Ahmed is under pressure. He has been for some time now. It started when Pakistan lost their ‘home’ Test series to Sri Lanka in the UAE 2-0 in the absence of veteran batsmen Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan.
They were then blanked 5-0 in the ODI series in New Zealand earlier in the year before they fought back to draw the Test series in England. However, in two major assignments in their UAE home since, Pakistan have not been at their best.
The Asia Cup was a big test of Pakistan’s World Cup credentials and Sarfraz’s captaincy against neighbours in familiar conditions. Not only did they fail to make it to the final, Pakistan were thrashed twice by India and also widely ridiculed for packing their squad with six fast bowling options when teams like India were fielding four spinners in their playing XI.
The men in green rectified most of those selection mistakes for the two-Test series against Australia. Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was back in the team and so was pacer Wahab Riaz. No place in the squad or team for the out-of-touch Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Amir or Hasan Ali.
The Pakistanis started the Dubai Test on a positive note; scoring nearly 500, dismissing Australia for just over 200, and then setting a target of 462 with five sessions to take 10 wickets. Should have been a straightforward result especially after Australian batting was torn to bits by debutant off-spinner Bilal Asif in the first essay.
But on the fifth day of the Dubai Test, Sarfraz decided to sit back. His most impressive bowler – Mohammad Abbas – was pressed into action only in the second hour of the morning despite taking three wickets for zero runs the previous evening.
Easy singles were provided to Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and later Tim Paine. In fact, when the final half hour started and captain Paine was only looking to block, Sarfraz still had fielders back early in the over expecting the batsman to look for runs when it was clear the batsman was only looking to block and take a single from the fourth or fifth ball.
Sarfraz Ahmed after the Dubai Test.
Then there is the wicketkeeper batsman’s demeanour. Sarfraz wears his heart on his sleeve and can match Virat Kohli when it comes to displaying his emotions. While that works well to rally his troops, it can get counter productive when the chips are down. Commentator Ramiz Raja has stated on numerous occasions that Sarfraz needs to calm down as he tends to rattle his team-mates with his remarks and admonishments.
Sarfraz was a grumpy captain even when the team was doing well. He seems to have gone completely to the dark side following the Asia Cup debacle and the Dubai Test draw which should have been a win for Pakistan despite the brilliance of Khawaja and Co.
Talk had already started of Sarfraz taking on too much responsibility while being the wicketkeeper batsman and captain in all formats in every series. With the latest results coupled with his alarming dip in form with the bat, Sarfraz clearly needs some time to refresh and recharge.
Chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq had given Sarfraz’s captaincy his backing after the Asia Cup. But maybe it’s time for Sarfraz to do what Kohli does and share the workload and responsibility with others members of the Test and ODI team to optimise his game time.
The World Cup in 2019 is the main target of every team and Sarfraz needs to be sharp and on top of his game then. If that requires him to take active time off, so be it. There is no harm in accepting there is burnout. If the Pakistan management and Sarfraz are on the same wavelength, managing future fixtures will help Pakistan field another player while giving their workhorse keeper and captain some much needed rest.
