LAHORE: Former national cricket team captain Shoaib Malik said that Sarfaraz Ahmed should be included in the national one-day international squad as white-ball World Cup is around the corner. Malik said the wicketkeeper batter will prove his worth in the coming tournament.
Sarfaraz returned to the national Test team after a four-year absence. In his first Test since 2019, he made 86 runs after replacing wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan in the side.
The wicketkeeper-batsman enjoyed an excellent 196-run partnership with skipper Babar Azam before Ajaz Patel dismissed him when he edged one to Mitchell at first slip shortly before the close.
Taking to Twitter, Shoaib Malik lauded Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) interim chief selector Shahid Afridi for selecting Sarfaraz in the Karachi Test match against New Zealand.
On the first day of the opening Test at Karachi’s National Stadium on Monday, Captain Babar Azam struck an unbeaten 161 as Pakistan overcame a wobbly start to score 317-5. With 161 and 3 runs respectively, Babar Azam and Agha Salman are currently on the crease.
Shoaib Malik tweeted that Afridi’s decision to take Sarfaraz for the Test was good. He said that the white-ball cricket World Cup is near, therefore, Sarfaraz should be included in the ODI team as well.
Malik said that the wicketkeeper-batter will turn out to very useful in the middle overs. Shoaib also lavished praise on Babar for scoring a brilliant century.
Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi praised Sarfaraz Ahmed for his performance against New Zealand in Green Shirts’ first game in the two-match Test series taking place in Karachi’s National Stadium. “Sarfaraz proved his selection right, excellent performance for him under pressure,” the former Pakistan skipper tweeted.
Afridi, who is part of the PCB’s newly-appointed management committee, was named as the chief of the interim selection committee last week.
The former all-rounder excused himself from taking a permanent role in the board. However, Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar Anjum will be the members. Haroon Rashid, who is also a member of the PCB management committee, will be the convener.