Sarfraz Ahmed on his way to becoming Pakistan's greatest wicket-keeper ever?
Wicket-keeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed made his Test debut against Australia at Hobart in 2010 following the infamous Sydney Test match, where Pakistan succumbed despite needing a paltry 176 in the fourth innings. He played that Test match largely due to the immense public pressure to oust Kamran Akmal, and then disappeared from the international scene for 3 years before returning in 2013, for the 3 Tests in South Africa.
Despite those 3 Tests being played on wickets tailor-made for the pace bowlers, the fact that he managed a top score of just 40 in his 6 innings raised question marks over his batting abilities. He was axed again and didn't play for another year before being recalled to replace an injured Adnan Akmal for the second Test against Sri Lanka in the UAE earlier this year.
Since then, Sarfraz has not looked back.
It has been a marvellous year for him, and he has marched on like a man on a mission.
For a man whose batting was doubted by everyone around the world, Sarfraz has made one hell of a turnaround to notch up scores of 7, 74, 5, 48, 55, 52*, 103, 55, 109, 15*, 19*, 13*, 112, 24* in 8 Test matches in 2014, giving him an aggregate of 691 runs at an average of 76.77 and a strike rate of 73.12.
Those figures include feats like the fastest century ever scored by a Pakistani wicket-keeper, the second fastest century ever scored by a wicket-keeper, and the only Pakistani gloveman to score three centuries in a calendar year.
Only AB de Villiers has scored more centuries (4) in a calendar year as the designated wicket-keeper of the team.
Sarfraz's batting has been a revelation and, he has been a major factor in Pakistan's success in Test cricket this year.
He is only 12 Tests old, yet he has already left a mark on the cricketing map and is fast gaining the reputation of being Pakistan's best wicket-keeper batsman ever.
There are 8 wicket-keepers who have played at least 10 Tests for Pakistan in the history of their Test cricket; and as far as their batting prowess is concerned, there haven't been any better than Kamran Akmal and Moin Khan.
Kamran and Moin lead the runs tally for Pakistani wicket-keepers in Tests, and both have a similar average as well. It can be argued that Kamran was slightly better considering he has 6 Test centuries (no wicket-keeper from Pakistan has scored more), including some match winning ones.
Sarfraz, with 3 Test centuries, is already half way there, and the way he is batting, he could well be above Kamran in just another year.
Sarfraz' Test average of 45.88, which is 15 runs better than Pakistan's best ever, already shows his superiority with the bat.
No one among all Test wicket-keepers in the world comes close to making the impact that Adam Gilchrist and Andy Flower made with the bat. Kumar Sangakkara and de Villiers could have done so, had they continued to stand behind the stumps in Test cricket. However, if Sarfraz can sustain his current form in the long-term, he could perhaps be remembered among the greatest wicket-keeper batsmen in Test cricket’s illustrious history.
