Kamran Akmal: “If Sarfaraz and Rizwan can play in the same team and do well, they should definitely be included”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Kamran Akmal said there is no reason why fellow Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsmen Mohammad Rizwan and Sarfaraz Ahmed can’t play together.
Rizwan has become the team’s go-to wicketkeeper-batsman, while Sarfaraz, who used to be the first choice for the position and captain in all three formats, is now the back-up option.
Sarfaraz is still picked in the team, but has only played a couple of games lately.
Rizwan, meanwhile, has been dominating lately as he has been scoring runs non-stop.
He amassed 42 runs in the three-match ODI series against against South Africa at an average of 14.
However, the 28-year-old turned thing around with 147 runs, which included two half-centuries, in the four-match T20 series at an average of 73.50 and a strike-rate of 147.
He continued to shine in the three-match T20 series against Zimbabwe as he amassed 186 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 186 and a strike-rate of 133.81.
In the two-Test series, he made 66 runs at an average of 33.
Despite this, Akmal feels that both Rizwan and Sarfaraz “should definitely be included”.
“If you look at other teams, even three wicketkeepers are playing in a line-up. So we need to go beyond personal likes and dislikes and select players who can help improve Pakistan’s performance on the field,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
“If Sarfaraz and Rizwan can play in the same team and do well, they should definitely be included.”