Sarfaraz Ahmed lends his support to Azhar Ali. (Source: Twitter/SarfarazAhmed)
Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has backed current skipper Azhar Ali and said that the men in green will bounce back after the bitter defeat in the first Test against England at Manchester.
Azhar Ali faced widespread scrutiny from fans and former national cricketers after an abject performance with the bat and as a captain. “It will hurt the Pakistan team and the cricket lovers in Pakistan,” former captain Wasim Akram told Sky Sports.
But backing his leadership, Sarfaraz tweeted, “Bhayya stay strong, InshaAllah, we will bounce back Pakistan zindabad.”
Bhayya stay strong 💪🏻 in shaa allah we will bounce back Pakistan zindabad @AzharAli_ pic.twitter.com/vstVNmI4Ki
— Sarfaraz Ahmed (@SarfarazA_54) August 10, 2020
Earlier, Ali hit back at his critics and maintained that every time the captain cannot be blamed and credit must be given to England, particularly Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes.
“It is easy to criticize with hindsight but we also need to acknowledge if someone posts a partnership like that. Every time you can’t blame the captaincy but I am here to take responsibility that we could not defend a total, as a team, which we should have,” Azhar said while talking to reporters during virtual press-conference.
“When I bat, I am not thinking about the captaincy, whether or not I am out of form, and when I am captain, I do not think about my batting at all,” he added.
“Winning and losing is part of cricket, but I think our captain missed a trick quite a few times in this game, as far as his leadership is concerned,” he added.
Earlier on Saturday, a magnificent partnership between Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler helped propel England to an unlikely three-wicket victory over Pakistan in a topsy-turvy first Test.