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Batting legend Younis Khan has urged incumbent national team captain Sarfraz Ahmed to improve his personal form, reminding the wicketkeeper-batsman that he will not be able to live off his team's Champions Trophy triumph forever.
Sarfraz had held the team's batsmen responsible for the humiliating defeat in the third ODI against New Zealand, but neglected to mention how he himself contributed a paltry 25 runs in his three outings so far in the series.
That lean patch with the bat led the outspoken Younis to remind Sarfraz that there is an expiration date to the goodwill he accumulated from leading the side to Champions Trophy victory.
“Although Sarfraz has brought the Champions Trophy title home, in recent matches his performance is not satisfactory and for this he will have to concentrate on his own performance and get serious,” Younis said during a media talk on Sunday. “As a captain, you have additional responsibility but you have to keep up your performance too.”
“Sarfaraz will have to give time to himself and work on fitness and skills to take up his performance,” he added.
Sarfraz has time and again said that conditions in New Zealand are very difficult for his men to adopt to, and while Younis agrees with that assessment, he feels a team of Pakistan's caliber can do better than hide behind excuses.
“The team always faces difficulty when they go to play in New Zealand," Younis said. "The conditions are quite different and tougher than England, South Africa or even Australia."
He continued: “They should be backed rather than being bashed, but they will have to adopt better to the conditions. They cannot blame the conditions for every defeat. They will have to work on their skills and develop them accordingly. The technique should be tweaked according to the conditions. They cannot just play the blame game every time.”
Younis, who ended his playing career following the Carribean tour last year, also put himself in the frame for batting coach's position, saying: "I am working with UBL, but will always be available for the national team if they want me as their batting coach."
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Comments (35) Closed
Jan 15, 2018 05:27pm
The body language wasn't good at all, they need to play as one unit if pak team wants to win rest of the games.
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Jan 15, 2018 06:04pm
Sarfaraz needs to improve his form. How? Was he deliberately deteriorating his form?
I looked for answers so I found below
“Sarfaraz will have to give time to himself and work on fitness and skills to take up his performance,” he added
Players don't do nets and hit the GYM, that too playing internationally? What is up with former players and their cliches?
Younis is arguably the greatest batsman Pakistan has ever produced and am a fan but he may not be the wisest man behind a microphone
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Jan 15, 2018 06:11pm
Younis Khan, one of the greatest batsmen in history.
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Jan 15, 2018 06:32pm
@Hussain He's right though, have you seen Dhoni hit a boundary? The ball goes like a rocket. Or yesterday did you see the brilliant 180 from Jason Roy. Absolutely dominated the ball. When Sarfraz tries to play an expansive shot, it is almost like he is using a plastic bat. No force behind the stroke play. He absolutely needs to hit the gym. Younis is bang on.
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Jan 15, 2018 06:39pm
With a mediocre batting line up including Hafeez and Malik the results were not unexpected.
Hafeez was never good abroad and Malik is surviving on past performances, both need to be axed if Pakistan is looking for an improved performance in the coming days leading up to the 2019 World Cup.
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Jan 15, 2018 06:45pm
Sarfraz is not Dohni yet. He need support from his batsmen to turn himself into Dohni caliber. But instead our top batsman destroying his talent and bowlers also.
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Jan 15, 2018 07:08pm
@Candasuck He needs to open the batting, perfect place for him. He is a good player, but in the wrong position. Plus captaincy has put burden on him also. He is a good captain.
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Jan 15, 2018 07:48pm
Hafeez is preferred due to his ability to bowl, solely as a specialist batsman has no place in team. The oldies have given maturity to batting but lately of no use.
The entire team needs to go through gym training very religiously. The muscles and abs must be visible.
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Jan 15, 2018 07:52pm
@Hussain he's not wrong. Sarfraz has struggled with the bat recently, even before the NZ series. Not to mention that dropped catch off Williamson in one of the earlier two games. Should have been taken but his feet moved too late. It might be due to the pressure of captaincy, or it could be the universe's plan to bring the team down to earth. They had been soaring for a long while before this. Maybe the easy going was getting to their heads? Here's hoping they bounce back though.
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Jan 15, 2018 08:28pm
Sarfaraz is NOT the captain material. They need a "strict" captain like Imran or Misbah. Dhoni was exceptional, Virat is mediocre. The Akmal brothers need to be back and you need a blaster like Pandya.
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Jan 15, 2018 08:46pm
We must remind our team that, "flattery is the food of fools".
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Jan 15, 2018 09:24pm
most of Pakistani players including Sarfraz looks overweight they have to work on their fitness. Sarfraz long over due for match winning performance he still have enough games left in New Zealand tour where he can prove his fitness and form.
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Jan 15, 2018 09:34pm
Sarfraz is average in batting and has no mentoring or coaching skills to be the captain.
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Jan 15, 2018 09:36pm
Younus Khan is spot on. Sarfraz needs to improve his performance drastically. His performance so far has been under power both in batting and while keeping the wickets. He clearly looks over weight.
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Jan 15, 2018 11:07pm
@Asif Do you mean to say he is the greatest batsman in the history of test cricket or the best batsman in Pakistan test cricket. In either case my answer is negative. Yes, he is one of the best batsman Pakistan has produced. I personally believe that Miandad, Inzamam, Yousuf, and Misbah were better than him.
Also, he should have retired much earlier but PCB and the selection committee prolonged his test career to enable him to complete 10000 runs in test cricket.
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Jan 15, 2018 11:22pm
Pakistan batting was always like this even when the senior players were in the team specially in Odi, and captain was blamed, this should stop now,
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Jan 16, 2018 12:53am
Sarfraz' s days are numbered now. But who will take over from him ?
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Jan 16, 2018 01:06am
I am not surprise with his comments. Whenever there is a good captain, this lobby comes into play. If your top order is out under 20, what can any captain do??
Unwise comments is what you expect from Younis Khan. Leaving in the middle of the series as captain is his history.
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Jan 16, 2018 01:26am
Not a bad advise
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Jan 16, 2018 02:33am
@Hussain what’s so wrong with what YK said?
As a captain Sarfraz needs to set an example.
When was the last time Sarfraz preformed?
All he does is talk behind the stumps. It’s like watching a gully cricket keeper.
Sarfraz needs to lead from the front.
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Jan 16, 2018 02:50am
Time for a new coach
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Jan 16, 2018 04:19am
All comments against Sarfaraz are based on "ism" rather then facts. Sarfaraz's record as captain and batsmen has been excellent. Pakistan team is progressing in the right direction under his leadership. One off bad series happens to every team. We have not performed well in Newzeland and Australia for over a decade now. We need to improve our performance is a fact but criticizing Sarfaraz is absolutely based on "ism" and nothing else.
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Jan 16, 2018 05:25am
Correct assessment.
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Jan 16, 2018 09:45am
@Hussain I agree, younus seems to be in category of biased Amir Sohail
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Jan 16, 2018 10:13am
Sarfaraz is the best thing to happen to Pakistan cricket in many years. Please stick with him for 3-4 years for some stability before we question him.
You found a good captain who wins a trophy after many years of drought and the guns are out on him? Yes, the team has lost games, but look at the overall record of his captaincy; more won than lost. Better than any Pakistan captain till date. And much better than Azhar and Misbah.
If you top order is getting no runs, your 250 match player Shoaib plays only against weaker bowling and in easy conditions only, then how can Sarfaraz do anything?
For those who want him out, please suggest a replacement? For those who want Akmals in, please provide see their records and then write. They have destroyed Pakistan cricket through nepotism and corruption.
It's a shame that we always self-destruct as we never want to see any fellow country man succeed.
If Pakistan cricket wants to go anywhere, Sarfaraz is the man.
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Jan 16, 2018 10:29am
@ MAK When you say Kohli is mediocre, your own people will laugh at you. Please don't use such words for a world class players, rather support your team and all other good players in the world too, like we absolutely love AB Deviliers, even though he is batting absolutely masterclass against us in the ongoing series.
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Jan 16, 2018 01:41pm
@Sufian when was the last time anyone performed in the team? You have a weak team, accept it and improve at grass root level. Sarfaraz isn't Dhoni, but he's much better than any other Pakistani player for a captain. He sacrificed his batting to allow other players to perform and that is his mistake. But he scored a 50 today, and the bowlers lost it for us. What do you say about this?
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Jan 16, 2018 01:42pm
@Asif only a test batsmen. He averages low 30's in ODI's. He is also a reason why Pakistani batting couldn't develop in ODI's. He has played over 100 ODI's and yet nothing to show.
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Jan 16, 2018 01:52pm
@Hussain .. Save him a bit of respect. He knows what happens in the nets, the dug outs and the camps. He retired as one of the fittest players and fielders in the team. His comments are based on his most recent experience of playing with his colleagues and he has said that the team needs backing rather than bashing.
Safaraz is not just the captain, he is one of 11 players in the side. If he cannot hold on to catches or bat when needed, the team will be one very important man down.
I totally agree with Younis. He has given a very constructive opinion.
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Jan 16, 2018 01:55pm
@Junaid .. absolutely.
I can't see why they threw Faheem Ashraf into the opening role when sarfaraz is so much a decent opener himself. He has responsibility for the outcome of the game so with that on his shoulders, there will be a positive pressure to avoid sully shots and hang in there.
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Jan 16, 2018 02:22pm
@FAIRTALK He is one of the best batsmen in the history of the game. Look at the 10,000 runs and then look at amount of innings. Look at how weak the rest of the batting line up was and the pressure he had to absorb as well coming in at 10 for 2 most of the time. Legend and a great in every sense of the word.
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Jan 16, 2018 08:20pm
Sarfaraz need to keep his cool and stop shouting at the players. This is not going to help !!! Learn from Dhoni if you can he was an exceptional leader who always was calm and kept everyone on their toes!!
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Jan 16, 2018 11:26pm
@Mirza Hafeez is ok at number 06 where he played in Champions Trophy and 4th ODI.No need moving him up the order.The way he hit 24 with 3 sixers of Trent Boult was commendable.Pakistan cannot keep persisting with out of form players in particular series.This way series is lost.The moment Babar Azam,Azhar Ali,Malik were struggling in 1st match ,give others chance like Sohail ,Yamin,Umar.Imaad Wasim,Shenwari,Junaid were 1st choice players any day.They need to stop over playing and featuring in T20 club cricket.This is making them fragile when national duty is required.
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Jan 17, 2018 01:52am
Good advice but who cares?
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Jan 17, 2018 07:58am
@Hussain yes Sarfraz has to improve his form. He didn’t manage much in first thre ODIs but finally did something in 4th ODI which was much decent fight overall and Pakistan looked respectable . Look at Kohli or Williamson as captain, they delivers most of the time. As the saying goes “lead from the front”
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