Shahid Afridi: “I’m very happy that Saifi has made a comeback and given such amazing performance”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former captain Shahid Afridi said he is over the moon that Sarfaraz Ahmed made his Test comeback recently and performed so well.
In the two-Test series against New Zealand, Sarfaraz was selected ahead of fellow wicketkeeper-batsman Mohamad Rizwan in the playing XI.
He subsequently went on to score 335 runs, which included a century and three fifties, at an average of 83.75.
This has potentially paved the way for a major selection headache for the national selectors as questions have been raised about whether Sarfaraz or Rizwan should be the first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman.
One of the possible alternatives is that Sarfaraz is retained in the squad, but as a specialist middle order batsman, which is an area Pakistan have struggled to find the right players for.
Regardless of what happens, Afridi reiterated that he is happy to see the 35-year-old back in the Pakistan team and playing at a very high level.
“I’m very happy that Saifi has made a comeback and given such amazing performance,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Sarfaraz recently featured in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he captained the Quetta Gladiators and made 162 runs in eight games at an average of 27 and a strike-rate of 104.51.
His side ended up missing out on the playoffs as they only won three out of the ten games they played.
He has also not been picked for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which will take place from March 25 to 28 in Sharjah.
Pakistan squad for T20I series against Afghanistan: Shadab Khan (capt), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan
Reserve players: Abrar Ahmed, Haseebullah, Usama Mir