Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq stated that wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed should have been given more chances as Pakistan skipper. Inzamam stated that Sarfaraz had brought many laurels to Pakistan and he was removed as the skipper just when he was getting vital experiences as a leader.

“Sarfaraz achieved some notable victories for Pakistan and was learning to be a good captain but unfortunately when he had learned from experience and mistakes he was removed as captain,” the former captain told a TV channel.

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Notably, Inzamam remained the chief selector of the team from 2016 till the 2019 World Cup and during his tenure, Sarfaraz remained the captain of the team.

Soon after Inzamam was replaced by head coach Misbah, the Pakistan cricket board removed Sarfaraz as a player and stripped him from his captaincy from all three formats.

“Sarfaraz won us the Champions Trophy and also made the team number one in T20 cricket. He got us some good wins. He should have been given more time as captain by the board but it acted in haste and didn’t give him confidence or patience.”

The PCB has granted Test captaincy to senior batsman Azhar Ali, while it is Babar Azam who has been given the captaincy of limited-overs team.

Inzamam also said that a captain’s own performance can take a toll.

“But a captain learns all this with time. There is no shortcut to it.”

He highlighted that although people talk about Imran Khan’s leadership qualities and captaincy but even he managed to win the World Cup on his third attempt as the skipper.

“He won the 1992 World Cup because by that time he had become a seasoned captain and learnt to motivate his players and get them to fight in every match.”

Inzamam felt that there was a sense of insecurity among Pakistan players during the 2019 World Cup and stated that captains needed to backed since they only tend to get better with time.

“Even in the last World Cup I felt the captain and players were under pressure because they were thinking if we don’t do well in the tournament we will be out. That environment was created and this is not good for cricket,” Inzamam said.