F.P. Report
KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed commented on his competition with Mohammad Rizwan and termed the latter the better wicketkeeper batter currently.
Sarfaraz appeared on a local news channel’s sports show and talked about various aspects of cricket and his career before being asked to name the better wicketkeeper batter between himself and Rizwan.
In reply, the former captain unhesitantly named Rizwan. “Mohammad Rizwan has become more mature with time. The way he has been playing, everything about him has improved,” said Sarfaraz.
“So, I think, currentty he is the better wicketkeeper batter,” he added.
Sarfaraz Ahmed then claimed that providing a player with consistent chances gives him confidence which ultimately leads to better performances, while denying the claim that he strived less than Rizwan.
“When I was playing, the performance was almost alike. [It’s just that] when you play consistently, your confidence grows,” stated Sarfaraz.
“And, as I said earlier in international cricket, the more you play, the more you’ll get better.
“So that’s the reason, like when I played, I gave some good performances. And now the way Rizwan is playing and getting consistent chances, he is growing in confidence and getting better and better.”
He then went on to offer a piece of advice to emerging wicketkeeper batters like Azam Khan, Mohammad Haris, Haseebullah Khan, Rohail Nazir and Saad Baig, who could go on to represent Pakistan as the first-choice wicketkeeper in the future.
“Look, the wicketkeepers we have like Azam, Haris and Haseebullah, apart from them Rohail Nazir was in the pipeline. There are more kids like Saad Baig from Under-19.
“So, we have the potential and the more they play cricket, especially four-day domestic, the more they’ll get experience and will perform well for Pakistan,” he concluded.
