Inzamam Ul Haq, the former Chief selector of the Pakistan Cricket Team, believes that the selection committee (PCB) was premature to sack Sarfaraz Ahmed of captaincy who served the cricket for so long with the winning titles.
Inzamam, who himself was stepped down of his role, said that Sarfaraz shall not have been replaced. Reviving the former skipper’s achievements, the ex-chief-selector mentioned how the team was at the number one T20 spot and also lifted the Champions Trophy 2017 proving himself as a potent captain.
Inzamam ul Haq: The decision to sack Sarfaraz of captaincy wasn’t a justified one by PCB
“Sarfaraz kept the team number one in T20, won the champions trophy, won other matches too, which proves that he was an able captain,” Inzamam told Geo Super.
“Form can come and go but it was premature to remove a captain who had won us so much.”
He urged if a person will start receiving messages of his removal from the early stages, he would be less focused on the game and the pressure can affect performance.
“If the captain starts getting messages that he can be dropped, that itself triggers his plight. At times the captain’s focus is also on others’ performances. That and the pressure can affect the captain’s own performance,” he said.
Reminding what happened during the World Cup 2019 and the sorts of comments Sarfaraz received after the team’s poor performance, Inzamam maintained the skipper was under pressure because of the sacking threats.
“Even during the World Cup, he (Sarfaraz) was under pressure that if the team does not do well, he’d be removed. How can a player deliver and fight on the field when there is so much pressure?”
Giving Imran Khan’s example, the former chief selector said that he won the mega event’s cup after a decade and it takes years for a captain t settle himself. It can’t be like taking trials for two months and then went on changing.
“People talk about Imran Khan but even he won the World Cup after 10 years. If we keep on changing captains every two years then how would the captain get the experience? You get up only when you’ve been down.”
“It is unfortunate that by the time a captain starts getting experience of dealing with all sorts of things, he is removed and the next one is named captain which is not good for cricket.
“A captain is responsible for everything inside the boundary and he should be empowered enough to call the shots,” he said urging the powers that be to give Azam a proper run as captain.
