Nothing wrong in giving Dhoni a call: Former Pakistan skipper advises Sarfraz Ahmed

Pakistan’s recent series defeat against New Zealand in the white-ball format has come down heavily on the team, and especially skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who was elected as the captain in all three formats last year enjoyed a great start after leading Pakistan to the Champions Trophy title in England. However, he has come under pressure and criticism following Pakistan’s debacle in the ODI series in New Zealand.

The Men in Green were whitewashed by the Kiwis in the five-match ODI series besides also losing the first of three T20 Internationals. To make matters worse for Sarfaraz, he has been in poor form of late, scoring just one fifty in the last six matches while his keeping has also come under scrutiny.

Thus to offer closure to a distressed Sarfaraz, former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has advised the national team captain to consult his Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Yousuf further opined that Sarfaraz had to realize that he needs to improve his fitness a lot more and believes Dhoni can get over his fitness and form issues.

The former Indian skipper has to his credentials the merit of leading India to the World Cup, Champions Trophy, World T20 and Asia Cup titles in his captaincy tenure and also saw India become the number one Test side.

Dhoni has handled pressure really well

According to Hindustan Times, the 43-year-veteran was quoted saying, “I think Sarfaraz needs to work on his fitness and skills a lot more. Unless he is in top form he can’t expect the team to respond. Dhoni led India admirably in all three formats for a long time and performed not only as captain but also as a batsman and wicketkeeper. Sarfaraz can learn a lot from him.”

He added, “Nothing wrong in giving Dhoni a call and chatting to him. He can give a lot of helpful tips to Sarfaraz on how to handle things because it is never easy when you are the keeper and also the captain.”

“I see him on the heavy side and he has to now focus on his batting and keeping a lot more. Dhoni can guide him on how he achieved so much success and how he had handled the pressure of all responsibilities so well for so long.”