Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has reiterated that it was not entirely his decision to remove wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed from the captaincy of the national team.
The 33-year-old was sacked from the leadership role and also lost his place in the squad after the Men in Green’s surprising 3-0 defeat against Sri Lanka in a T20I series on the home soil last year.
Misbah, when asked whether it was his decision to remove Sarfaraz from the captaincy during an interview, responded by saying: “I do not have the power to select or remove a captain. It is a prerogative of the chairman PCB and he made the final call. Yes, he asked the management about our opinion but that is not for the public to know. It was the chairman’s decision in the end.”
During the recently concluded tour of England, reports emerged that Sarfaraz was reluctant to represent the national team in the last T20I after not being able to find a spot in the starting XI in any of the other matches where wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan was preferred as the number one choice.
Talking about the matter, Misbah revealed that he understood Sarfaraz’s reservations and he made sure that the former captain will get a game after working really hard to cement a spot in the playing XI.
“Sarfaraz’s concern was genuine,” he said. “He worked really hard during the England tour and if I would’ve been in his place, my concerns would’ve been the same because a player can be judged on a performance of a single match. But we just assured him that is not that case and we know that he has worked really hard throughout the tour so he deserves a game.”
