Sarfaraz Ahmed is in the team with us because we trust in his abilities: Babar Azam

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has said that he will look to use Sarfaraz Ahmed as the team’s wicketkeeper and number five batsman in ODIs. This comes after Sarfaraz featured in the third ODI against South Africa, his first 50-over game since October 2019.

Sarfaraz did not contribute much to Pakistan’s 28-run victory as he could score only 13 runs with the bat. Although, behind the stumps, he managed to grab three catches to make his inclusion justified.

Pakistan clinched the series 2-1, becoming only the second team after Australia to win an ODI series against South Africa in their backyard twice.

Our middle order was struggling a bit: Babar Azam

“The only thought behind this selection was the fact that we had lot of experience in Sarfaraz sitting on the bench and we wanted to utilize that. There’s a gap in our middle order where we are missing a particular kind of player we are trying to fill, which is why we brought Sarfaraz in to try and plug that weakness,” Azam was quoted as saying by PakPassion.

Ever since the rise of Mohammad Rizwan, the position of Sarfaraz Ahmed in the side has been unstable. However, with his captain showing confidence in him, it seems that Ahmed will be able to keep his spot in the 50-over format for Pakistan

“Sarfaraz Ahmed is in the team with us because we trust in his abilities, and we will try and utilize him in ODIs as a wicketkeeper and batsman at the number 5 position as it suits him best. That is also the position which needs a batsman to move the innings and that is what we were lacking in the previous 2 matches where the middle order was really struggling.”

“I’m very confident with the side. I’m very happy with the top order performing in a difficult place like South Africa. It gives us a lot of confidence, and we want to keep this momentum going,” he stated. The team was able to convert Babar Azam’s desire of keeping the “momentum going” as Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the T20I series at Johannesburg on 10th April. The two sides will meet in the second game on 12th April at the same venue.