Pakistani Cricket Stars: Sarfraz ahmed

Sarfaraz ahmed Biography
Sarfraz Ahmed is a wicketkeeper and a right handed batsman with the Pakistan cricket team. He has also played for the Karachi Dolphins, Pakistan A, Karachi Harbour, Pakistan International Airlines, Sind and the Pakistan Under-19 cricket teams.

Sarfraz Ahmed started playing first class cricket in 2006. After captaining the Pakistan under 19 team, scoring consecutive fifties in his 3rd and 4th matches and leading the team to win the Under 19 World Cup, he made his debut in International cricket in a One day International cricket match against India at Jaipur in 2007. He kept the wickets and caught Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh behind the wickets. Ahmed was not required to bat the innings as Pakistan won the match by 31 runs. Ahmed has yet to play an International test match or a Twenty20 International match but is considered as strong competition to the existing Pakistan wicketkeeper, Kamran Akmal.

In a total of 8 One day International matches, Sarfraz Ahmed has scored 26 runs at a strike rate of 56.52, He also has 6 catches and 3 stumpings to his name.

Career Highlights

Sarfraz was a captain of Pakistan under 19 team in the year 2006.

Full Name: Sarfraz Ahmed

Date of Birth: May 22, 1987, Karachi, Sind

Major Team: Pakistan, Karachi Dolphins, Karachi Harbour, Pakistan A, Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Under-19s, Sind

Playing Roll: Wicket Keeper Batsman

Batting Style: Right

After completing a five-match ODI series against South Africa at home, the Pakistan cricket team has a hectic season ahead. Our cricketers are scheduled to tour India in November for three Tests and five ODIs. Then Pakistan would play host to world champions Australia early next year. During the last one and a half months, the Pakistan team also played the Twenty20 World Cup and a two-Test home rubber against South Africa.

To cope with such a packed cricket season properly, Pakistan requires a hundred per cent fit and in-form squad especially its wicket-keeper. Wicket-keeping is a demanding job and a wicket-keeper has to do double effort as compared to any batsman or bowler in a cricket match. Beside batting responsibilities, a wicket-keeper has to bend for every fast and slow delivery that makes his job more tougher than others.

As cricket is growing speedily in different forms, PCB needs to introduce concept of separate sides and wicket-keepers for different kinds of game. There should be one wicket-keeper for Tests and other first-class matches while a separate stumper should be deputed for fast cricket i.e. ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals.

It has been observed that in the prevailing situation usually players have to change their frame of mind according to slower or faster nature of game. If it is Test cricket, the batsmen are usually bound to play a technically sound game whereas in the one-day and Twenty20 form of game, they have to mould themselves into an Afridi-like style. However, in separate sides concept, batsmen and wicket-keepers are not required to change their batting style and they would be free to play their natural game. In this way, definitely they can contribute more handsomely in their respective form of game. Moreover, the fans of the game would watch a fresh and agile wicket-keeper every time.

After realising the wicket-keepers' extraordinary workload in international cricket, other countries are introducing reserve wicket-keepers in their teams to give much wanted relief to their regular and first choice glovemen. Australian and Indian cricket managements are keeping reserve wicket-keepers Brad Haddin and Dinesh Karthik with their respective teams regularly to give vital rest to their regular wicket-keepers. England are trying three cricketers Matthew Prior, Paul Nixon and Phil Mustard to find suitable wicket-keepers for all three forms of the game. And it is a fact that this is the only way to get the maximum out of a wicket-keeper particularly in crucial games.

As far as Pakistan's wicket-keeping is concerned, Kamran Akmal has been the country's number one gloveman for the last couple of years. During the just concluding two-Test series against South Africa, he performed well with the bat but could not live up to the expectations behind the stumps probably due to excessive cricket. He dropped South Africa's premier batsman Jacques Kallis when he was on 36 in the Karachi Test and resultantly the giant all-rounder managed to score 155 that proved decisive in Pakistan's 160-run defeat.

Then at Lahore, Kamran had to open the innings after keeping wicket for almost two days. As an opener, he played well and struck 52 and 71 in both innings and virtually remained in the middle for all five days with pads on his legs.

Sarfraz Ahmed is a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman who has played five ODIs for the Pakistan Under-19 team before being called up to captain the side for the U-19 World Cup in 2006 after scoring back-to-back half centuries in only his third and fourth match. With Pakistan winning the World Cup, Sarfraz was duly drafted into domestic cricket.

poor showing behind the stumps for Pakistan during the second Test in Sydney has prompted the selectors to rush promising wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed to Australia ahead of the third Test in Hobart. A strongly-worded release from the PCB said Sarfraz "will be participating in third Test" although it didn't say whether Akmal, who is the team's vice-captain, would play as a specialist batsman or not.

"[The] Pakistan Cricket Board shows its utmost concern over the poor performance of Pakistan Cricket Team in second Test match played in Sydney," the PCB release said. "Chairman Selection Committee was invited today for a meeting with Chairman of PCB to evaluate the situation. As an urgent action, it was agreed to send wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed to Australia before the 3rd Test to reinforce the wicketkeeping department. The tour selection committee has been informed accordingly. An overall review of the performance of the team shall be carried out by the board after completion of the Australian Tour."

Akmal had a torrid time behind the stumps on day three of the second Test, dropping Michael Hussey three times off Danish Kaneria and missing a run-out chance earlier in the day. He also dropped Peter Siddle off Mohammad Sami on the fourth morning. Hussey went on to score an unbeaten 134 and helped stretched Australia's lead from 80 - at the end of the third day - to 175. Pakistan were the favourites to win on the fourth day but collapsed to 139 and lost the match, by 36 runs, and the series.

"The call up has come as a pleasant surprise and if I get a chance to play I will do my best for my country", PTI quoted Sarfraz as saying before flying out of Karachi.

Sarfraz had toured New Zealand recently as an understudy to Akmal but was sent back home before the team headed to Australia, because the selectors wanted to trim the squad. Sarfraz, who has played eight ODIs for Pakistan, had replaced Akmal for the 2008 Asia Cup. Akmal has since been the first choice wicketkeeper and was even publicly backed by his captain Mohammad Yousuf during the Sydney Test because of his abilities as a batsman.

Zulqarnain Haider and Sarfraz Ahmed are the other two guys, who are performing well in domestic cricket. Zulqarnain, who has 44 first-class matches in his kitty at such a young age, has been with the national team for the last couple of years. The lanky stumper, who could not demonstrate his true batting skills in the practice one-dayer against touring South Africans at Bagh-e-Jinnah, has toured South Africa last year under Inzamam-ul-Haq and played the only Twenty20 International there.

In 2004, he was part of the 16-member national team for the two-Test home series against Sri Lanka. At one stage, he was on the verge of making his Test debut but was suddenly overlooked due to unknown reasons. Zulqarnain, who has struck two centuries and 10 fifties in first-class career so far, has displayed his batting potential on a number of occasions. He was top scorer and best wicket-keeper in the 2004 U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh where Pakistan won the title.

Sarfraz ahmed