Sarfraz Ahmed

Sarfraz Ahmed
Personal information
Full name Sarfraz Ahmed
Born (1987-05-22) 22 May 1987
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Nickname Saifi
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Batting style Right-handed
Role Wicket-keeper/captain of T20 team
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 198) 14 January 2010 v Australia
Last Test 14 July 2016 v England
ODI debut (cap 156) 18 November 2007 v India
Last ODI 4 September 2016 v England
ODI shirt no. 54
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I FC
Matches 25 59 21 120
Runs scored 1489 1079 291 6334
Batting average 43.79 29.16 29.10 42.79
100s/50s 3/7 2/3 0/2 10/42
Top score 112 101* 76* 213*
Catches/stumpings 61/17 54/19 3/2 357/44
Source: ESPN Cricinfo, 24 August 2016

Sarfraz Ahmed (Urdu: سرفراز احمد‎; born 22 May 1987) is a wicketkeeper and batsman who plays international cricket for Pakistan. He is the national T20I captain of the Pakistan national cricket team and also the appointed vice captain in the ODI format of the game. Sarfraz is generally an aggressive batsman who can score runs at a brisk pace. He is the son of late Shakeel Ahmed Memon who was the owner of shakeel Brothers, a well known publishing company. He was named as Pakistan's Twenty20 International captain following the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India.[1]

Early life

Sarfraz belongs to an Urdu-speaking family. He was born in Karachi.[2][3] He is also a Hafiz-e-Quran which he became at the age of 10. In May 2015, Sarfraz married Syeda Khushbakht Shah.[4]

International career

One Day International

Sarfraz was called up by Pakistan as a cover for Kamran Akmal who had a finger injury in the one-day series between India and Pakistan in November 2007. He made his ODI debut in the final match of the series, on 18 November 2007. He didn't get a chance to bat as Pakistan had won the match before he was needed to bat.

In 2008, Sarfraz was selected ahead of Kamran Akmal for the Asia Cup.

In 2015, Sarfraz was selected for 2015 Cricket World Cup but did not get a chance to play in the first four matches. Due to the first frequent losses, he was selected for Pakistan's fifth match of the event against South Africa where he scored 49 runs off 49 balls and took 6 catches as wicket-keeper to equal the one day international record for most dismissals. He was rewarded with the Man of the Match award. In his second match in the world cup he scored 101* against Ireland and he was again named the Man of the Match. The win gave Pakistan a spot in the Quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Sarfraz's notable achievement during the early days of his career was the victory at the U-19 World Cup in 2006 where he led the Pakistani team and defeated India in the final in a low-scoring encounter.

Test

He made his Test match debut in Hobart on 14 January 2010, in the third Test match against Australia, replacing Kamran Akmal who suffered an "error-ridden performance" in the second Test.[5] He was dropped again after one match.

Return to international cricket (2011)

Sarfraz returned to the international team for the ODI series against Sri Lanka in November 2011 and for the subsequent series against Bangladesh and the 2012 Asia Cup. In the final of the tournament he scored a crucial 46 not out (the highest score from his team) as Pakistan won the match by 2 runs. He was consequently rewarded a Category C contract and selected for Pakistan's next series against Sri Lanka, again for ODIs.

Vice-captaincy

After Misbah retired from the ODI format of the game after 2015 Cricket World Cup, Sarfraz was emerging to be a potential successor. However the PCB went with Azhar Ali for the captaincy and considering Sarfraz led the Pakistan U-19 team, appointed him as the vice captain of the ODI as well as the T20 team.

After vice-captaincy

Sri Lanka Test series (2015)

During the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle, Sarfraz stabilized the Pakistan Innings by a knock of 96 runs in just 85 balls just could not score the century and was bowled by Sri Lankan pacer Dhammika Prasad. During his knock he became the 7th Pakistani wicketkeeper to reach 1000 Test runs, in 28 inns, jointly the fastest Pakistani wicket-keeper with Imtiaz Ahmed. The knock also gave him the Man of the Match award.

Sarfraz was dropped from the T20 series that followed the Test series against Sri Lanka. Many fans back home were shocked and started to raise questions.[6] Pakistani coach Waqar Younis said on 6 August that Sarfraz is a key Pakistani player and he should be the next T20 captain of Pakistan.[7]

Zimbabawe ODI series (2015)

Due to a foot injury sustained by usual ODI captain Azhar Ali, Sarfraz became the captain for the third ODI against Zimbabwe on 5 October 2015. He recorded first win in his debut match as captain.

2016 PSL

Sarfraz was picked by Quetta Gladiators in the PSL players draft on December 21, 2015. He was selected to be the franchise captain for the 2016 season. He led the Gladiators all the way through to the final, losing only two matches before it. But still his team just couldn't make it and they lost in the final to Islamabad United.[8]

Captaincy

After Shahid Afridi stepped down as T20 skipper on 3 April 2016, the PCB appointed Sarfraz captain of the national T20 team on 5 April 2016. He won his first match in the only T20I against England by nine wickets.[9] Later his team defeated the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 champions, West Indies with a whitewash in a 3 match series.[10] This was the first time that Pakistan has completed a whitewash in a 3 match T20I series.[11]

International centuries

Test centuries

Sarfraz Ahmed's Test centuries
# Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year Result
1 103 8  Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2014 Lost
2 109 9  Australia United Arab Emirates Dubai, United Arab Emirates Dubai International Cricket Stadium 2014 Won
3 112 12  New Zealand United Arab Emirates Dubai, United Arab Emirates Dubai International Cricket Stadium 2014 Drawn

One Day International centuries

Sarfraz Ahmed's One Day International centuries
# Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year Result
1 101* 38  Ireland Australia Adelaide, Australia Adelaide Oval 2015 Won
2 105 61  England United Kingdom London, England, United Kingdom Lord's Cricket Ground 2016 Lost

International awards

Test Cricket

Man of the Match awards

S No Series Season Match Performance Result
1 1st Test – Pakistan in New Zealand Test Series 2010/11 1st Innings: WK 3 ct. ; 96 (86 balls, 13×4)
2nd Innings: WK 3 st. DNB		  Pakistan won by 10 wickets.[12]

One-Day International Cricket

Man of the Match awards

S No Opponent Venue Date Match Performance Result
1 South Africa Eden Park, Auckland 7 March 2015 49 (49 balls, 5x4, 3x6); WK 6 ct.  Pakistan won by 29 runs (D/L).[13]
2 Ireland Adelaide Oval, Adelaide 15 March 2015 101* (124 balls, 6x4); WK  Pakistan won by 7 wickets.[14]
3 Sri Lanka R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo 19 July 2015 77 (74 balls, 7x4); WK 2 ct. 1 st.  Pakistan won by 135 runs.[15]
4 England Sophia Gardens, Cardiff 4 September 2016 WK ; 90 (73 balls, 10x4, 1x6)  Pakistan won by 4 wickets.[16]

Twenty20 International Cricket

Man of the Match awards

# Series Season Opponent Match Performance Result
1 Pakistan vs New Zealand in UAE 2014/15 New Zealand WK ; 76* (64 balls: 8x4, 2x6)  Pakistan won by 7 wickets.[17]
2 Pakistan vs West Indies in UAE 2016/17 West Indies 46* (32 balls: 5x4); WK 2 ct.  Pakistan won by 16 runs.[18]

See More

References

  1. ↑ "Sarfraz Ahmed named Pakistan's T20I captain". ESPN Cricifno. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Celebrating Sarfraz's success in a small corner of Uttar Pradesh". Dawn. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Sarfraz Ahmed has 'mamu' in tears in Etawah". Indian Express. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Cricketer Sarfraz Ahmed marriage
  5. ↑ "Saga ends as dropped Kamran heads for a rest". 13 January 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010. His unimpressive batting saw him dropped from the team after just one match.
  6. ↑ "Dropping Sarfraz Ahmed: PCB seeks answer from Shahid Afridi". thenewstribe. 2015-08-05. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  7. ↑ "Sarfraz should become next T20 captain: Waqar Younis". The Express Tribune. 2015-08-06. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  8. ↑ "Islamabad crowned PSL champions". The Express Tribune. 2016-02-24. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  9. ↑ http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-pakistan-2016/engine/match/913663.html
  10. ↑ "Pakistan whitewash World T20 champions in one-sided series. | Pakistan Cricket Forum - Cricistan". cricistan.com. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
  11. ↑ "This is the first time that Pakistan has completed a whitewash in a 3 match IT20 series". socialfeed.info. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
  12. ↑ "Pakistan in Sri Lanka Test Series, 2015 - 1st Test".
  13. ↑ "ICC Cricket World Cup, 2015 - 29th match, Pool B".
  14. ↑ "ICC Cricket World Cup, 2015 - 42nd match, Pool B".
  15. ↑ "Pakistan in Sri Lanka ODI Series, 2015 - 3rd ODI".
  16. ↑ "Pakistan in England ODI Series, 2015 - 5th ODI".
  17. ↑ "Pakistan v New Zealand T20I Series - 1st T20I – Pakistan v New Zealand Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "West Indies tour of United Arab Emirates, 2nd T20I: Pakistan v West Indies at Dubai (DSC), Sep 24, 2016". ESPNcricinfo. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
Preceded by
Shahid Afridi		 Pakistani national cricket captain (T20I)
2016–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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