Shahid Afridi expresses disappointment over the way Sarfraz Ahmed is treated

Pakistan cricket has gone through a rough patch in recent times. They were comprehensively humbled during their erstwhile ODI series against New Zealand. Subsequently, the team and Sarfraz Ahmed, the skipper, have attracted flak from the media owing to shambolic performances. However, Shahid Afridi, the former Pakistani all-rounder has asked the media to keep patience with Sarfraz and not to be too critical of the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Afridi backs Sarfraz

Afridi showed a lot of confidence in Sarfraz’s leadership qualities and urged the press to support him and the team. Every cricketer goes through a rough phase and rising from the slump defines the character of the sportsman. The all-rounder also mentioned the prominence of past-performances as a testimony to a player’s attributes on the field

“Sarfraz is still new to the job and he will only get better along the way. The only thing I don’t like is that media running down players during their rough times. As long as you are winning, everything is fine and you lose a game and all hell breaks loose,” Afridi was quoted as saying in an interview.

“That is grossly unfair. We should not overlook someone’s past achievements just because he is going through a bad patch,” he added.

Barring the ODI series against the Kiwis, Pakistan haven’t performed poorly to be fair to the team. They managed to whitewash Sri Lanka in the ODI and T20 series. They were comprehensively brushed aside by the Kiwis in the opening T20 International of the series. However, the Men in Green stormed back and registered two consecutive victories and subsequently, won the series.

On the backs of the stupendous victories, Pakistan have also raced to the top of the table in the ICC T20 International rankings for teams. Moreover, Sarfraz has also led their team in their victorious campaign of their ICC Champions Trophy in June.