Sarfaraz Ahmed is a very good player and a fighter: Harsha Bhogle
Harsha Bhogle, a renowned cricketing voice in world cricket, has opined that Sarfaraz Ahmed will have to work hard to earn back his spot in the national side with Mohammad Rizwan having cemented his already.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan's former skipper and Champions Trophy-winning captain, was sacked from Test and T20I captaincy in October last year, and was subsequently dropped from all formats. The decision from PCB came following an embarrassing clean-sweep in a three-match T20I series at the hands of a second-string Sri Lankan side in Lahore.
Sarfaraz Ahmed is now accompanying Pakistan's squad that is currently in England for the upcoming series that starts on August 5.
Speaking about who he thinks should be Pakistan's preferred wicketkeeping choice for Tests in England, Bhogle reflected on Rizwan's batting exploits in Australia last year. He feels feels that it should earn Rizwan his spot in the playing XI ahead of Sarfaraz Ahmed.
"Rizwan has come along and has got some really good scores in limited-overs cricket. He was part of that big partnership with Babar Azam in Australia, so he has shown that he can play. It is now up to Sarfaraz to come back into the side and displace the incumbent. The incumbent is now Rizwan, which is very clear," Harsha Bhogle said.
Bhogle says he has always admired Sarfaraz Ahmed
Bhogle also spoke about how he has always admired Sarfaraz Ahmed as a cricketer and advocated his fighting spirit. He feels that Pakistan cricket couldn't get as much out of the former skipper as they should have.
"I always had a lot of time for Sarfaraz as a player. I thought he was a genuine batsman. Sarfaraz is a really good player and there is a fighter in him. I always thought that Pakistan cricket didn’t get as much out of Sarfaraz as I thought he was capable of," Harsha Bhogle added.
Pakistan's three-match Test series against England is set to commence from August 5 and will be followed by as many T20Is. The Men in Green are currently staying in Worcestershire where they have begun their training drills for the upcoming series.