Sarfaraz Ahmed Hits Back at Mohammad Hafeez after Latter's Tweet on Mohammad Rizwan

Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed responded to the raging debate on who is the number one wicketkeeper-batsman in the country. The response comes after Mohammad Hafeez congratulated Mohammad Rizwan on his match-winning performance in the first T20 International against South Africa.

The Ahmed vs Hafeez rift has sent ripples across cricket circles, as Hafeez’s congratulatory tweet to Rizwan has been perceived as an indirect jibe at his former skipper. Hafeez, on Thursday, tweeted to appreciate Rizwan’s ton and wrote, "Congratulations @iMRizwanPak on scoring T20 Hundred points."He went to laud him as a ‘star shining star,’ adding that how long does he (Rizwan) need to prove that ‘u r NO1’ wicketkeeper-batsman for Pakistan ‘in all formats of the game.’

See it here:

Congratulations @iMRizwanPak on scoring T20 💯👏🏼👍🏼. U r a Star shining star 🌟 Wonder how long u need to prove that u r NO1 wicketkeeper/Batsman in pakistan in all formats of the game. Just asking 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/e5fSNIaCmN

— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) February 11, 2021

Hafeez’s tweet prompted a response from Ahmed who has not been included in the squad. The former skipper in response took to the microblogging site and asked Hafeez to show some ‘positiveness’. In a series of tweets, Ahmed recalled a few Pakistani players (wicketkeepers) from yesteryears to recent ones and called them great. He named players like Imtiaz Ahmed, Wasim Bari, Moin Khan, Rashid Latif to Kamran Akmal, and even named Rizwan – have always been number one when representing the country and ‘have been respected accordingly’.

See it here:

Hafeez bhai Sb, whoever has played for Pakistan from Imtiaz Ahmed, Wasim Bari, Tasleem Arif to Saleem Yousuf and from Moin Khan, Rashid Latif to Kamran Akmal and even Rizwan right now has always been number ONE for the country and have been respected accordingly. https://t.co/dF7BScOurl

— Sarfaraz Ahmed (@SarfarazA_54) February 12, 2021

In the following tweet, he noted that everyone is behind Rizwan and wished he plays many more amazing innings for Pakistan.

We are all behind Rizwan and wish that he plays many more amazing innings for our beloved country.

— Sarfaraz Ahmed (@SarfarazA_54) February 12, 2021

In his third tweet, he wrote,"Aur ayende bhee jisko bhee chance milega wo Pakistan ke liye number ONE hee huga. (And whoever is given a chance to play would be no 1 for Pakistan)."The former skipper also urged Hafeez to not create divisions and wrote that the countrymen expect nothing else ‘but positiveness',and it is coming from an international player who has represented Pakistan in so many games.

Aur ayende bhee jisko bhee chance milega wo Pakistan ke liye number ONE hee huga. We expect nothing but positiveness coming from an international player who has played so many games for Pakistan. #JustSaying🙏🏼

— Sarfaraz Ahmed (@SarfarazA_54) February 12, 2021

Meanwhile, in the Pakistan vs South Africa T20I series, the hosts wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammed Rizwan became the second cricketer from his country to smash a century in a T20I match. Rizwan achieved this feat in the first T20I against South Africa in Lahore on Thursday. They are one up in the three-match T20I series.

• cricket
• Mohammad Rizwan
• Muhammad Hafeez
• Number one battle
• pakistan
• pakistan vs South Africa
• Sarfaraz Ahmed
• T20 International
• wicket-keeper