November 21, 2007	Wednesday	Ziqa’ad 10, 1428

NEW DELHI, Nov 20: Pakistan team’s manager Talat Ali has predicted a bright future for the young wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed who made a promising debut in the fifth and final One-day International in Jaipur last Sunday.

Talking to reporters during Tuesday’s first training session of the visiting team in the practice area of the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, where the first Test starts from Thursday, Talat described Sarfraz as a natural glovesman.

“Personally, I was very impressed by Sarfraz’s wicket-keeping. This youngster is a born wicket-keeper. What really amazed me was the way he collected the ball. At no time it appeared that Sarfraz was playing his first game for the senior side,” a delighted Talat said.

“This boy has the potential to become a very good prospect for Pakistan. But it doesn’t mean that Kamran Akmal is a poor wicket-keeper. It is just sheer bad luck that Kamran is going through a lean patch behind the stumps and that’s why his performance has been well below par.

“But Kamran is capable of bouncing back. The amount of workload that Kamran had to face during the last year is one of the main reasons for his lack of form. Now that Sarfraz is in the squad we have the luxury of giving Kamran the much needed rest when the time merits,” Talat concluded.