Sir Viv Richards: “I feel there is no other guy than Sarfraz”

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Legendary West Indies batsman Sir Vivian Richards firmly believes that Sarfraz Ahmed is the best person to captain Pakistan.

There has been a lot of debate about whether Sarfraz should be in charge of the national team, especially after they were whitewashed 5-0 in their recent ODI series against New Zealand.

However, Richards pointed out that under Sarfraz’s leadership, Pakistan made history in June last year when they won the Champions Trophy for the first time.

“When you can win the ICC Champions Trophy out of nowhere then, who else? We didn’t give Pakistan a chance,” he told Dawn. “I can’t see anyone else as the [Pakistan] team leader [in the lead-up to next year’s World Cup].

“Just think of it. To come back after losing that first game [in the Champions Trophy] against India and beat the same team so comprehensively in the final is a certain mark of improvement. And when you can do and go all the way to the final, then the captain should be given [the] credit he deserves.

“And to be fair, I believe when I see around in Pakistan, I can’t find anyone who can motivate the players and get the best out of the team. Maybe people might think being so close to Sarfraz at Quetta Gladiators I am being biased, but when I do really think, then I feel there is no other guy than Sarfraz.

“The motivating factor Sarfraz brings is tremendous. I love his attitude and the way he goes about his job when the chips are down in trying his best to lift the team. People say he is aggressive, but it [is] one of his [best] attributes in my opinion. To be honest when I see around in the PSL, I don’t see anyone else having the same passion or virtues that Sarfraz possesses.

“Even before I came to Quetta Gladiators, I had seen Sarfraz being proactive and always trying to do things differently when he batted, and I love the fearlessness in his approach to leadership because he reads the game very well.

“To be fair, Sarfraz will obviously have his bad days [as captain]. People must respect and understand that because he is an individual who wants things to happen; and [in doing so] you, at times, are going to fail.”