Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal:
Pakistan’s captain and wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed has shown his support towards the returning batsmen Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad, after Pakistan’s defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the 1st T20I.
Both Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad have been out of the team for a while. Umar Akmal last played a T20I for Pakistan three years ago, while Ahmed Shehzad played one T20I last year before he was banned from all formats of cricket for a positive dope test.
In the 1st T20I against Sri Lanka in Lahore, Ahmed Shehzad scored 4 runs off 10 balls while Umar Akmal got out on a duck. Umar Akmal now holds the record of most ducks [9] by any Pakistani cricketer. Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad were part of the playing squad in Harris Sohail and Fakhar Zaman’s place.
Sarfaraz Ahmed about Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal:
Sarfaraz Ahmed said about the duo after their defeat in the first T20I against Sri Lanka that in the previous two domestic seasons, Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad had performed well. Sarfaraz said that they are trying to their fullest to give a complete chance to those who are brought back into the team. He told everyone to not worry about anything as he gives his full backing to them as a captain and that Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal both are experienced players and they will perform once they settle in.
Pakistan’s captain said Fakhar Zaman and Harris Sohail both have been part of the team for some time now and when they brought back Ahmed and Umar, they intended to make them play in Fakhar and Harris’ position. Sarfaraz further explained that if they had played Fakhar, then Ahmed Shehzad would have been made to play at one down but he and the coach decided to try Ahmed as an opener.
Sarfaraz Ahmed said that they are looking forward to the World Cup and they can never find a better player than Ahmed if he can settle himself at this opening number. Sarfaraz said that it is the same with Umar Akmal as they wanted him to play him in his number so they had to drop Harris Sohail, who is without a doubt a very skilled player. Sarfaraz further explained that they had played with six new players in the side without thinking about winning or losing, they just wanted to play them and give them confidence because for any player, making a comeback into the team is not easy.
Sarfaraz Ahmed said about Sri Lanka that no team is considered weak in T20 format and we knew on the day of the match that their team was strong and they had potential. Sarfaraz said that they played better than us, they should be given credit for the win but I still back my team. Sarfaraz explained that it was a bad day for us and they did not play good cricket. Sarfaraz Ahmed assured that they will come back and it is going to be more exciting for the spectators and the fans as they will get to see some tough cricket.
