Former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed has often been at the receiving end of trolls. After Pakistan’s early exit in the World Cup 2019, Sarfaraz was sacked as captain along with the head coach Mickey Arthur. The wicketkeeper-batter was recently dropped from the limited-overs series against Australia as well. Following the snub, in a recent interview with a local Pakistan channel, Sarfaraz has expressed that he does not want his son, Abdullah to take up the sport.
"Abdullah is passionate about playing cricket. But I don't want him to become a cricketer," Sarfaraz said during an interview on a local channel.
"Actually, being a cricketer, I suffered many things that I don't want Abdullah to face. It's human nature. Being a cricketer, I want my brother or son to be selected immediately. Otherwise, it hurts," the 34-year-old explained the reasons behind not wanting his son to play professional cricket.
Sarfaraz also revealed that former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Moin Khan praised his son. Also, India’s star tennis player Sania Mirza believes that the young lad has a lot of potential.
"A lot of people said to me that Abdullah is talented and I should let him play cricket. Moin Bhai had praised Abdullah's skills, also, Sania Mirza once told me that Abdullah has the potential to become a cricketer. But I want him to achieve his goals by working hard. Nobody should give him an easy way just because he is my son," Sarfaraz further added.
Sarfaraz has not played a single game since November 2021, where he scored just six runs from 12 balls in a low-scoring T20I against Bangladesh. He was a part of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad as well that reached the semi-final against Australia.
In the last few years, the captain of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy 2017-winning side has been included in the side as the backup wicketkeeper. With Mohammad Rizwan performing consistently as a wicketkeeper-batter, Sarfaraz has warmed the benches as Babar Azam has opted for specialists in the middle-order.
