Shoaib Akhtar on Sarfraz Ahmed’s four-match ban: “It could have been much worse”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Legendary Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar believes that captain Sarfraz Ahmed should consider himself lucky that he only received a four-match ban for his racial comment against South Africa all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo.

In the 37th over of South Africa’s chase in the second ODI in Durban, the broadcast stump mic picked up Sarfraz speaking in Urdu, and the 31-year-old was heard saying: “Abey kaale, teri ammi aaj kahaan baitheen hain? Kya parwa ke aaye hai aaj?”.

Translated into English, it means: “Hey black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What [prayer] have you got her to say for you today?”

As a result, Sarfraz was handed a four-match ban, meaning he will miss the remainder of the ODI series against South Africa and the first two matches of the Twenty20 series.

But, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were less than impressed with the punishment the ICC placed on Sarfraz and decided to let him return home from the ongoing tour of South Africa.

The board announced that veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik will captain the side in Sarfraz’s absence.

However, Akhtar feels that Sarfraz was lucky not to get a sterner punishment from the ICC as his case revolved around racism.

“Sarfraz committed the mistake unintentionally, and it was a good sign that he apologised,” Akhtar was quoted as saying by the Business Recorder. “However, it could have been much worse because if this kind of racism happened in football, one could lose the entire World Cup and [be banned] for years.

“Racism is a crime, so I think the suspension was very good for the Pakistan cricket team. I am hopeful that Sarfraz will make a good comeback after the suspension, because we need him in the World Cup as he is a lucky captain and has a good combination of players on his side.”