PCB apologizes for controversial tweet after Sarfaraz Ahmed’s ouster

It couldn’t have been worse for Pakistan cricket. Days after the Men in Green were thrashed 3-0 by a depleted Sri Lankan side in a T20I series in their den, veteran skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed was sacked from captaincy in Tests and T20Is and even from the team.

The decision by the Pakistan cricket authorities led to a big controversy with many saying the move was more motivated by non-cricketing reasons. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) though said it was because of the 32-year-old wicketkeeper-captain’s poor form on the field.

The matter was made worse by a controversial tweet that was posted from the PCB’s handle moments after the decision on Sarfaraz was announced. The tweet in question showed a GIF of Pakistan players celebrating with Sarfaraz leaving the frame – possibly from a training session.

The PCB posted another tweet apologizing for the controversial one saying the timing of the first tweet was not right. It defended the controversial tweet saying it was more of a promotional campaign for the next T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in 2020 and clashed with the announcement on Sarfaraz’s removal.

Here’s the PCB apology

The PCB apologies for this post and accepts the timing of it was wrong. This was a pre-planned post as part of the one-year to go #T20WorldCup promotional campaign. The timing of this post clashed with the captaincy announcement for which the PCB offers its regrets.

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 18, 2019

Sarfaraz led Pakistan to win the Champions Trophy in 2017

Sarfaraz earned Pakistan their second-biggest trophy in the 50-over format in 2017 when they beat India by 180 runs in the final of the Champions Trophy in England. He also led his country to 29 wins out of 37 T20I matches to become the most successful in the format. He also led Pakistan to become the No.1 team in the T20Is.

Sarfaraz was replaced by Azhar Ali in the Tests while his deputy in T20Is Babar Azam took his place in the 20-over format. No decision has been taken yet on the ODIs as Pakistan will not be playing in a fifty-over game till July 2020 when they take on the Netherlands in a three-match series.

Meanwhile, Sarfaraz’s removal became even more a controversial topic as former captain and wicketkeeper Moin Khan claimed that the current head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis did not like him.

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