Saeed Ajmal: “If you want to go by performance, Sarfaraz (Ahmed) has been performing well in the (domestic) T20s”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Ex-Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has asked why veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed is not being picked in T20Is when he has a good record in the format.
Sarfaraz has represent his country in 61 T20Is and scored 818 runs, which includes three fifties, at an average of 27.26 and a strike-rate of 125.26.
In regards to domestic T20s, the 35-year-old has amassed 3,967 runs in 252 matches, which includes 17 fifties, at an average of 28.74 and a strike-rate of 127.96.
Given these statistics, along with the vast amount of experience Sarfaraz possesses, Ajmal questioned why young players like Mohammad Haris are being preferred over him.
The 21-year-old has featured in five T20Is to date and made 104 runs at an average of 20.80 and a strike-rate of 138.66.
As for his domestic record, he has played 31 T20s and accumulated 601 runs, which includes two half-centuries, at an average of 21.46 and a strike-rate of 135.66.
“If you want to go by performance, Sarfaraz (Ahmed) has been performing well in the (domestic) T20s,” Ajmal said on his YouTube channel as quoted by NDTV.
Sarfaraz will now captain the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Haris will represent the Peshawar Zalmi. Ajmal, meanwhile, will be Islamabad United’s assistant coach.
The Zalmi will be in action on February 14 when they take on the Karachi Kings. As for the Gladiators, their first game will be against the Multan Sultans on February 15.
Islamabad United’s opening match on February 16 will see them face the Kings.
Quetta Gladiators Squad for PSL 8:Â Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Wanindu Hasaranga, Iftikhar Ahmed, Jason Roy, Odean Smith, Ahsan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Zahid, Naveen-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Umaid Asif, Will Smeed, Aimal Khan, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Martin Guptill, Omair Bin Yousuf, Qais Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Dwaine Pretorius, Will Jacks and Nuwan Thushara
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 8:Â Babar Azam, Rovman Powell, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz, Arshad Iqbal, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Saim Ayub, Salman Irshad, Usman Qadir, Haseebullah Khan, Sufyan Muqeem, James Neesham, Khurram Shahzad, Haris Sohail and Richard Gleeson
Islamabad United Squad for PSL 8:Â Alex Hales, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Colin Munro, Paul Stirling, Rumman Raees, Sohaib Maqsood, Hassan Nawaz, Zeeshan Zamir, Moeen Ali and Mubasir Khan, Tom Curran, Zafar Gohar, Gus Atkinson and Tymal Mills