ISLAMABAD: Former skipper Rashid Latif has said the silence of wicket-keeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed is his strength and his approach to remain quiet on management’s decisions is the best strategy.

“I think it is better for him to keep quiet. It is his success indeed,” he said in his post T20 match analysis on late Thursday.

Sarfraz, who is vice-captain of the national team in the shortest format of the game, was not among the playing eleven against Sri Lanka in the first T20 although he played a key role in Pakistan’s win against them in the recently concluded Test and ODI series.

He said Sarfraz’s performance in Tests and ODIs had been very good and he should not have been left out of the T20 team.

“He has been performing consistently. In particular, he has been doing well in tough situations and helping the team win matches.”

Rashid said that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should issue a press-release to end speculations about Sarfraz’s exclusion from the first T20.

He said that it was unfair to criticise head coach Waqar Younis if a player is not part of the playing eleven as the final decision in this regard is taken by the captain.

The former skipper said the management particularly coach should always adopt a positive attitude towards players as it encourages them and boasts their confidence.

It may be mentioned here that Sarfraz was ultimately given the chance to keep wickets when Umar Akmal had dropped several catches and missed a number of stumping chances behind the wickets in this year’s World Cup and the green-shirts had to lose several matches because of that.

Sarfraz scored 49 and took six catches in the first match he played against South Africa in the World Cup. The rest is history.

He has been one of the top performers for Pakistan since then but due to favouritism prevailing in the Pakistan team it seems highly unlikely that he may be included in the playing eleven for the second T20, which will be played on Saturday (today).

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2015

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