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Sarfraz Ahmed: My aim is to build on the great work Misbah-ul-Haq did with Pakistan side

‘With great powers come great responsibilities’. Sarfraz the skipper knows that well. He has the tough job to steer Pakistan through troubled waters and make them a force they once were.

Misbah-ul-Haq (left) and Sarfraz Ahmed (Image courtesy: AFP)
Misbah-ul-Haq (left) and Sarfraz Ahmed (Image courtesy: AFP)

There was a section of mass calling for Misbah-ul-Haq’s head for not including Sarfraz Ahmed into the XI in the 2015 World Cup. Umar Akmal was forced to keep wickets and he was doing a terrible job. Then came Sarfraz and the fortunes changed for a while. However, as time passed, the camaraderie between the two grew. Misbah has hailed Sarfraz as ‘the oxygen for the team’. Sarfraz has had a good start to his leadership career, winning the Champions Trophy. However, he has big boots to fill of Misbah as Test skipper. ALSO READ: Sarfraz calls Umar “an asset”; hopes he improves fitness and makes comeback

‘With great powers come great responsibilities’. Sarfraz the skipper knows that well. He has the tough job to steer Pakistan through troubled waters and make them a force they once were. However in the first place, Sarfraz never imagined becoming captain across formats.

“I never thought I would lead the Pakistan cricket team in all three formats and it’s like a dream come true for me. I only ever dreamt of playing cricket for my country and never in my wildest dreams did I ever aspire to be captain even in one format, let alone all three formats. The support of my family especially my parents have been pivotal in my career and I hope I can perform to expectations and not let anyone down. It’s been a good start to my captaincy and that’s all it is, just a start. There’s a long road ahead and there is no way that I just want to be complacent and live off the Champions Trophy win. There’s hard work ahead for all of us,” said Sarfraz in an interview with PakPassion.net.

Under Misbah’s guidance, Pakistan had scaled to unmatched heights, scaling the No. 1 position in the ICC Test Rankings in 2016. The stint, albeit a short one, was nothing short of a celebratory feat for Pakistan, who had not played a Test at home for over seven years at that point. The weight of expectations is now on the shoulders of Sarfraz, who also has the dual job of keeping wickets being one of the premier batsmen of the side.

Of course, being Misbah’s understudy has helped Sarfraz and the stumper acknowledges the same and at the same time announces that he is ready for the challenge: “No praise is enough for the way Misbah-ul-Haq, my predecessor as Test captain, lead the Pakistan team.The way he took on the role in 2010 under those circumstances and built the team and took them forward was just incredible. To then take the team to No. 1 in the Test rankings was nothing short of miraculous.

“I played under Misbah for a couple of years and I learnt a lot from the way he lead and the way he captained the side and how he planned session by session. My aim is to build on the great work that Misbah did with the Pakistan Test team and carry that forward. If I can carry on the great work that Misbah did, that would be a major achievement for me”.

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