Pakistan's out-of-favour wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal threw his weight behind Sarfraz Ahmed but cautioned the 28-year-old against complacency after putting in top performances in the last couple of seasons.
Sarfraz, who made his Test debut in 2010, saw his career take off in 2013 and besides proving a very stable hand behind the wickets, the former under-19 captain has also excelled with the bat.
His dramatic ascent sidelined Kamran and his brother Adnan from the Test squad and he gradually cemented his place in the ODI side as well.
But Kamran, who last played for Pakistan in 2010 in Tests and 2013 in ODIs, said the real challenge for Sarfraz now was to maintain his performances.
“Sarfraz has done very well for Pakistan but I believe that the main challenge for him is to maintain the high levels of performance in every game he plays,” the 33-year-old Kamran said in a interview with Pakpassion.
“My best wishes are with the Pakistan team and whoever performs the best for the team deserves to be with the team and that’s all there is to it,” he added.
Sarfraz, who had a successful Test and ODI series against Sri Lanka recently, was dropped from the proceeding two-match T20 series but Kamran said there was no need to raise a hue and cry about it.
“The way I look at this is that we need to have full faith in the captain and his judgement as he is the one who decides on the right combination for the team for any game.”
“It is also possible that the captain and coach decided to give him a break after taking into account the hot and humid weather in Sri Lanka as Sarfraz had played non-stop in three Test matches and five ODIs prior to the the T20I series.”
Kamran, who in July helped Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel to their maiden Caribbean Premier League title, said the competition between keepers Sarfraz and Mohammad Rizwan was good for the side but added that he had not given hope of another recall to the Pakistan side either.
“Look there is always competition at any given point in time. Once we had Rashid Latif and Moin Khan competing with each other then we had Mohammad Salman, Humayun Farhat and Zulqarnain Haider.
“All I am trying to say is that there will always be competition for places and one should not worry about it. I for one am only worried about my own fitness and want to concentrate on my own performances and wait for an opportunity to represent my country. Whenever that call comes, I will be ready to put in my best efforts and leave the rest to the Almighty.”
