Sarfaraz Ahmed

Sarfaraz Ahmed (Urdu: سرفراز احمد; born 22 May 1987) is a Pakistani professional cricketer, a wicketkeeper-batsman, who plays for the Pakistani national cricket team. He was the former captain of the Pakistan side in all formats.^[5] He leads Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League. Under his captaincy, Pakistan won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, defeating arch-rivals India in the final. Coincidentally, during his under-19 days, he also led the Pakistan team to win the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where they had also beat India in the final.^[6]

Sarfaraz Ahmed

SI

Sarfaraz Ahmed in 2019
Personal information
Born	(1987-05-22) 22 May 1987 (age 36) Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Nickname	Saifi,^[1]^[2]^[3] Kaptaan^[4]
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Wicket-keeper-batter
International information
National side	Pakistan (2007–present)
Test debut (cap 198)	14 January 2010 v Australia
Last Test	14 December 2023 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 156)	18 November 2007 v India
Last ODI	7 April 2021 v South Africa
ODI shirt no.	54
T20I debut (cap 36)	19 February 2010 v England
Last T20I	22 November 2021 v Bangladesh
T20I shirt no.	54
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2005/06–2017/18	Karachi
2006/07–2011/12	Sindh
2006/07–2013/14	Pakistan International Airlines
2016–present	Quetta Gladiators (squad no. 54)
2017	Yorkshire (squad no. 56)
2019/20–2023	Sindh
2023/24–present	Karachi Whites (squad no. 54)
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 54 117 182 205 Runs scored 3031 2315 9729 3973 Batting average 37.41 33.55 42.11 32.04 100s/50s 4/21 2/11 16/66 3/20 Top score 118 105 213* 105 Catches/stumpings 160/22 119/24 570/55 224/48
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy Winner 2017 England & Wales Asia Cup Winner 2012 Bangladesh ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup Winner 2006 Sri Lanka
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 7 January 2024

Sarfaraz was named as Pakistan's Twenty20 International captain following the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India.^[7] He was named Pakistan's ODI Captain on 9 February 2017 after Azhar Ali stepped down.^[8] He took up the Test captaincy mantle for his team following the retirement of Misbah-ul-Haq and hence became the 32nd Test captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team. In March 2018, on Pakistan Day, Sarfaraz became the youngest cricketer to be awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz.^[9]

In August 2018, he was one of thirty-three players to be awarded a central contract for the 2018-19 season by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).^[10][11] In January 2019, in the second ODI against South Africa, he played his 100th ODI match.^[12] Later in the same series, he was banned for four matches after admitting making a racist remark to South African Andile Phehlukwayo.^[13]

Early life and family

Sarfaraz Ahmed was born on 22 May 1987 in Karachi, Pakistan to a family with a printing press business.^[14]

Ahmed is a Muhajir, both his paternal and maternal ancestors being from Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. While his paternal family migrated to Pakistan from Azamgarh during the partition of India, his mother, a native of Dilerganj, did so after marrying his father in 1982.^[15] His father died back in 2006.^[14]

He married Syeda Khushbakht, also a Muhajir with ancestors from Aligarh in UP, in 2015; the couple have two children.^[14][16][17]

International career

 

Sarfaraz Ahmed in 2017

Early career

One Day International

Sarfaraz's notable achievement during the early days of his career was winning the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2006 where he led the Pakistani team and defeated India in the final in a low-scoring encounter.

Sarfaraz was called up by Pakistan as a cover for Kamran Akmal who had a finger injury in the one-day series against India in November 2007. He made his ODI debut in the final match of the series, on 18 November 2007. He didn't get a chance to bat as Pakistan had won the match before he was needed to bat.

In 2008, Sarfaraz was selected ahead of Kamran Akmal for the Asia Cup.

In 2015, Sarfaraz was selected for 2015 Cricket World Cup but did not get a chance to play in the first four matches. Due to the first frequent losses, he was selected for Pakistan's fifth match of the event against South Africa where he scored 49 runs off 49 balls and took 6 catches as a wicket-keeper and equalled the ODI record for most dismissals (6 dismissals).^[18] Also, he equalled Adam Gilchrist's record for the most dismissals as a wicketkeeper in a single World Cup innings (6)^[19] He was rewarded with the 'Man of the Match' award. In his second match in the world cup, he scored 101* against Ireland and he was again named the Man of the Match. That win gave Pakistan a spot in the Quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Test

He made his Test match debut in Hobart on 14 January 2010, in the third Test match against Australia, replacing Kamran Akmal who suffered an "error-ridden performance" in the second Test.^[20] He was dropped again after one match.

Return to international cricket (2011)

Sarfaraz returned to the international team for the ODI series against Sri Lanka in November 2011 and for the subsequent series against Bangladesh and the Asia Cup. In the final of the tournament he scored a crucial 46 not out (the highest score from his team) as Pakistan won the match by 2 runs. He was consequently rewarded a Category C contract and selected for Pakistan's next series against Sri Lanka, again for T20Is.

Vice-captaincy

After Misbah retired from the ODI format of the game after the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Sarfraz was emerging to be a potential successor. However, the PCB went with Azhar Ali for the captaincy and considering Sarfaraz's leadership in the Pakistan U-19 team, appointed him as the vice-captain of the ODI team.

Sri Lanka Test series (2015)

During the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle, Sarfaraz stabilized the Pakistan's innings with a knock of 96 runs in just 85 balls, falling just four runs short of a century when he was bowled by Sri Lankan pacer Dhammika Prasad. During his knock, he became the 7th Pakistani wicketkeeper to reach 1000 Test runs, in 28 inns, jointly the fastest Pakistani wicket-keeper with Imtiaz Ahmed. That knock also earned him the Man of the Match award.

Sarfaraz was dropped from the T20 series that followed the Test series against Sri Lanka. Many fans back home were shocked and started to raise questions.^[21] Pakistani coach Waqar Younis said on 6 August that Sarfraz is a key Pakistani player and he should be the next T20 captain of Pakistan.^[22]

Zimbabwe ODI series (2015)

Due to a foot injury sustained by usual ODI captain Azhar Ali, Sarfaraz became the captain for the third ODI against Zimbabwe on 5 October 2015. He recorded first win in his debut match as a captain.

Captaincy

T20I captaincy

After a horrendous T20 World Cup 2016 campaign, the T20I captain Shahid Afridi resigned and the PCB appointed Sarfaraz as the captain of the national T20 team on 5 April 2016. He won his first match in the only T20I against England by nine wickets.^[23] Later, in a 3-match series, his team whitewashed the 2016 ICC World Twenty20's champion, West Indies. Pakistan ranked Number 1 in ICC rankings for T20 Internationals in late 2018. Under his captaincy, Pakistan won 11 consecutive T20 series. The teams included West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, England & Zimbabwe against which Pakistan won the series. Pakistan also white-washed the opponent in a bilateral series on 5 occasions under his captaincy.

ODI captaincy

On 9 February 2017 following the resignation of then captain Azhar Ali from ODI captaincy, Sarfaraz Ahmed was chosen to succeed him. He became the full-time limited overs captain of Pakistan. He also became the vice-captain for Pakistan's Test team. In his first series as an ODI captain, Pakistan beat West Indies by 2–1.^[24]

His first major tournament as a captain was the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. In the pool matches, Pakistan lost to India, but went on to win against South Africa and Sri Lanka to enter semi-finals. In the semi-final, Pakistan beat the host England comprehensively to enter Pakistan's first Champions Trophy final. In the final against arch-rivals India, Pakistan posted a massive total of 338 and won the match convincingly to become the champions.^[25] He was also named the captain and wicket keeper of the 'Team of the Tournament' at the 2017 Champions Trophy by the ICC^[26] and Cricinfo.^[27]

Test captaincy

On 28 September 2017, against Sri Lanka, he became the 32nd captain of Pakistan in Tests.^[28] Sri Lanka won the Test series by 2–0. It was Pakistan's first whitewash defeat in the United Arab Emirates, and only the second whitewash in a home series after losing to Australia in October 2002.^[29]

Suspension, dropped as captain

In January 2019, during the second ODI of the series against South Africa, Sarfaraz was caught on the stump mics using a racial slur towards Andile Phehlukwayo.^[30] He played in the third ODI match, but was then suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the next four matches, missing the last two ODIs and the first two T20Is of the tour.^[31] Shoaib Malik captained the Pakistan team in Sarfaraz's place.^[32] The following month, the PCB confirmed Sarfaraz as the team's captain, and stated he would lead the squad at the 2019 Cricket World Cup.^[33][34]

In April 2019, he was named as the captain of Pakistan's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.^[35][36] Under his captaincy, Pakistan managed to win five out of their nine matches, losing three and one no result. Pakistan couldn't qualify for the semi-finals as their net run rate was less than New Zealand's.^[37][38]

In October 2019, ahead of Pakistan's tour to Australia, Sarfaraz was sacked as captain of Pakistan's team, following Pakistan's poor run of form.^[39] Azhar Ali and Babar Azam were named as the captains of the Test and T20I squads respectively.^[40] Under his leadership, Pakistan won 29 of their matches out of 37 and reached No.1 Spot in T20Is rankings.^[41] In ODI's and under his leadership, Pakistan played 50 matches out of which they won 28 matches, lost 20 matches and had a winning rate of 58.33.^[42]

In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[43][44] In July, he was shortlisted in Pakistan's 20-man squad for the Test matches against England but he was overlooked and did not play a single test.^[45][46]

Domestic and franchise cricket

Sarfaraz was picked by Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) players' draft on 21 December 2015. He was selected to be the franchise captain for the 2016 season. He led the Gladiators all the way through to the final, losing only two matches before it. But still, his team just couldn't make it and they lost in the final to Islamabad United.^[47] In the second season of 2017, he once again led Quetta to the final, but Quetta lost by 58 runs against Peshawar. Which meant that Quetta had lost the PSL final for the second time in a row.^[48] In the third season (2018), Quetta Gladiators could not manage to qualify for the final and were defeated by Peshawar Zalmi by 1 run in the first eliminator.^[49] He once again captained Quetta Gladiators in the fourth season of PSL leading the team to win the tournament for the first time, defeating Peshawar Zalmi in the final match.

In September 2019, Sarfaraz was named the captain of Sindh for the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament.^[50][51] In October 2020, he was drafted by the Galle Gladiators for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League.^[52] In November 2021, he was selected to play for the Galle Gladiators following the players' draft for the 2021 Lanka Premier League.^[53] In July 2022, he was signed by the Galle Gladiators for the third edition of the Lanka Premier League.^[54]

Awards

• PCB's Outstanding Player of the year: 2017^[55]
• Sitara-e-Imtiaz (2018) - Pakistan's third highest civilian award^[56][57]
• PCB's Spirit of cricket award: 2018^[58]

References

1. "Ramiz Raja says Sarfaraz Ahmed is a 'true team player'". Bol News. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
2. "Shaheen Afridi Clarifies Verbal Spat With Sarfaraz Ahmed, The Former Captain Reacts". News18. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
3. "Local Boys Asks Sarfraz Ahmed To Start Cricket Series In His Residential Area". UrduPoint. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
4. "Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed praise each other on social media after PSL 2021 match". The News International (newspaper). 3 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
5. "Sarfaraz Ahmed profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos".
6. "Smashed, broken and crumbled: The tale of Pakistan's runaway success against a star-studded India exactly a year ago". 18 June 2018.
7. "Sarfraz Ahmed named Pakistan's T20I captain". ESPN Cricifno. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
8. "Azhar Ali quits as Pakistan ODI captain".
9. "Sarfraz awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz on Pakistan Day". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
10. "PCB Central Contracts 2018–19". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
11. "New central contracts guarantee earnings boost for Pakistan players". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
12. "South Africa opt to field against Pakistan in second ODI". Geo TV. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
13. "Sarfraz Ahmed: Pakistan captain banned over racist comment by ICC". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
14. Acharya, Shayan (17 June 2017). "Sarfraz's Indian connection!". Sportstar.
15. "सरफराज बने T20 के कैप्‍टन, जानें क्‍या है इस पाक खिलाड़ी का यूपी से रिश्‍ता" [Pakistani cricketer Sarfraz Ahmed connection from UP]. Bhaskar.com (in Hindi). 2015.
16. "Dhoni's photo with Sarfaraz Ahmed's son wins hearts". Samaa TV. SAMAA TV. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
17. "Sarfaraz Ahmed blessed with a baby girl". Geo Super TV. Geo Television Network 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
18. "Records | One-Day Internationals | Wicketkeeping records | Most dismissals in an innings | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
19. "Cricket Records | Records | World Cup | Most dismissals in an innings". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
20. "Saga ends as dropped Kamran heads for a rest". 13 January 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010. His unimpressive batting saw him dropped from the team after just one match.
21. "Dropping Sarfraz Ahmed: PCB seeks answer from Shahid Afridi". thenewstribe. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
22. "Sarfraz should become next T20 captain: Waqar Younis". The Express Tribune. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
23. Only T20I (N), Pakistan tour of England and Ireland at Manchester, Sep 7 2016 | Match Summary. ESPNCricinfo (2016-09-07). Retrieved on 2017-10-12.
24. "Rebuilding Pakistan need aggressive Sarfraz Ahmed, says Shahid Afridi". Express Tribune. 11 April 2017.
25. "New champions: Zaman, Amir and Pakistan raze India for title". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
26. . Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
27. "Champions Trophy XI: Sarfraz pips Kohli, Tamim at No. 3". ESPNcricinfo.
28. "Sarfraz's Pakistan look to build on Misbah's reign". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
29. "Sri Lanka moves ahead of Pakistan in sixth place". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
30. "On-field taunt could land Sarfaraz Ahmed in the dock". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
31. "Sarfaraz gets four-match suspension for breach of Anti-Racism Code". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
32. "Sarfaraz Ahmed suspended for Durban comments". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
33. "Sarfaraz Ahmed to captain Pakistan in 2019 World Cup". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
34. "Sarfaraz Ahmed to continue as Pakistan captain". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
35. "Mohammad Amir left out of Pakistan's World Cup squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
36. "Amir left out of Pakistan's World Cup squad". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
37. "New Zealand qualify for CWC19 semi-finals". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
38. "Cricket World Cup: Black Caps secure semi-final place as Pakistan fail to score enough runs". Stuff. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
39. "Sarfaraz Ahmed sacked as Pakistan's Test and T20I captain". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
40. "Azhar Ali appointed Test and Babar Azam T20I captain". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
41. "Pakistan / Records / T20Is / List of Captains". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
42. "Pakistan Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
43. "Haider Ali the new face as Pakistan name 29-man touring party for England". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
44. "Haider Ali named in 29-player squad for England tour". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
45. "Pakistan shortlist players for England Tests". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
46. "Wahab Riaz, Sarfaraz Ahmed in 20-man Pakistan squad for England Tests". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
47. "Islamabad crowned PSL champions". The Express Tribune. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
48. Sarfraz Ali (5 March 2017). "PSL 2017 final: Peshawar beat Quetta by 58 runs, crowned champions". Daily Pakistan. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
49. "Eliminator 1 (N), Pakistan Super League at Lahore, Mar 20 2018 | Match Report | ESPNCricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
50. "PCB announces squads for 2019-20 domestic season". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
51. "Sarfaraz Ahmed and Babar Azam to take charge of Pakistan domestic sides". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
52. "Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Shahid Afridi among big names taken at LPL draft". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
53. "Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews miss out on LPL drafts". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
54. "LPL 2022 draft: Kandy Falcons sign Hasaranga; Rajapaksa to turn out for Dambulla Giants". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
55. "Sarfaraz bags outstanding player of the year at PCB awards 2017". Dawn News. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
56. "President Mamnoon confers civil awards on Yaum-i-Pakistan". Dawn. 23 March 2018.
57. "Sarfraz becomes youngest Pakistani cricketer to receive Sitara-e-Imtiaz". Geo News.
58. "Fakhar Zaman steals PCB awards ceremony". www.brecorder.com. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sarfaraz Ahmed.

• Sarfaraz Ahmed at ESPNcricinfo
• Sarfraz Ahmed Profile On ICC 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Sarfraz Ahmed Profile on PCB

Preceded by Shahid Afridi	Pakistani national cricket captain (T20I) 2016–2019	Succeeded by Babar Azam
Preceded by Azhar Ali	Pakistani national cricket captain (ODI) 2017–2019	Succeeded by Babar Azam
Preceded by Misbah-ul-Haq	Pakistani national cricket captain (Test) 2017–2019	Succeeded by Azhar Ali