LAHORE: Former Test fast bowler Aaqib Javed has questioned the strategy adopted by captain Sarfraz Ahmed and head coach Mickey Arthur during Pakistan team’s ongoing New Zealand tour where the visitors have been simply outclassed.

Pakistan suffered a humiliating 0-5 clean-sweep by New Zealand in the five-match ODI series before Sarfraz-led team lost the opening game of the three-match T20 series by seven wickets in Wellington on Monday.

“The policy adopted by coach and captain — of rotating the players after every defeat in New Zealand — is debatable,” Aaqib said while talking to reporters here on Monday.

Babar Azam, who batted at No.3 throughout the ODI series in Newz Zealand, was tested at No.5 in Monday’s T20 game, an experiment which badly failed raising questions about the logic behind changing the position of the young batsman who is already in poor form.

Earlier in the ODI series, Pakistan team management tested a different opening pair in every match.

When Waqar Younis was the head coach, Aaqib recalled, he (Waqar) was severely criticised for not testing Sarfraz top of the batting order. But now when Sarfraz himself was captain, he could easily promote himself in the order to the team’s advantage which the skipper did not do and remained stuck to sixth spot, Aaqib added.

“Furthermore, Sarfraz’s own performance [with the bat] has been poor. [Therefore] he has to lead from the front and perform if he wants to have control over the team.”

Mohammad Nawaz, who was promoted to bat at No.3 in the T20 series opener, was no pinch-hitter, emphasised Aaqib adding the experiment of sending Fahim as pinch hitter also failed.

Aaqib also slammed the performance of Pakistan bowlers on the New Zealand tour, saying it was only the first T20 in which they claimed two wickets in the first eight overs, otherwise, he added, the Kiwis “plundered 60 to 70 runs for the first wicket”.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2018