Karachi: Former captain Wasim Akram Tuesday slammed Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to call back Sarfraz Ahmed from South Africa after he was handed a four-match ban for breaching the ICC’s Anti-Racism Code.
Akram said Sarfraz should have avoided making the comments that he did in the third ODI in Durban but it was wrong to speculate about his future in the Pakistan team.
“It was a wrong decision to call him back from South Africa when he could have played in the final T20 February 6,” said Akram.
“What Sarfraz did was wrong but it is also a fact that more than anyone else, Pakistanis around the world hyped up his comments and created an issue,” said the fast bowling great.
The former skipper, who is also on the PCB’s cricket committee, was clear that Sarfraz should remain the national team’s captain.
“There is no need to change the captain before the World Cup. We need a long term captain not a short term one. Shoaib Malik is leading the team now and is doing a fine job but even he has said he will retire from ODIs after the World Cup,” he said.
Wasim said the only reason he was backing Sarfraz was because he was a fighter and had led the side with courage in all formats.
