Sarfaraz to stay with Gladiators

LAHORE: Quetta Gladiators’ captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has made it clear that he has no plans to leave the franchise. Sarfaraz while speaking in a YouTube podcast responded to a question regarding his future with the Gladiators and shared his bond with the franchise owner Nadeem Omar and claimed that he will not leave the former champions until they decided to part ways.

“I have been associated with Quetta for the last eight years but my relationship with them is longer. I think since 2003 or 2004, I have been with them. I guess I was just 17 when I first played for Nadeem Bhai’s team Omar Associates,” he recalled. “I played for the Pakistan club and Nadeem Bhai saw and supported me during my growth as a cricketer. He is just like a father figure to me. I will not leave Quetta until they do,” he said.

The wicketkeeper had not missed a single match for Gladiators until this year when an injury forced him to miss his side’s last two fixtures. Meanwhile, Gladiators’ owner Omar in multiple interviews backed Sarfaraz to continue to lead his side and reiterated that he will remain in the franchise until he himself decides otherwise.

Sarfaraz-led Gladiators have gone downhill since winning the title in 2019. They have failed to make it to the playoffs in the previous four editions of the PSL. Former Pakistan captain also threw his weight behind current all-format captain Babar Azam, saying that the latter’s captaincy skills are getting better and better.

“There is always room for improvement. Babar is getting better as a captain. He has started doing well and I hope he will keep on getting better,” said Sarfaraz. “In Pakistan, making a mistake is a sin. I know Babar makes mistakes but give him some time. It takes time to become a captain and build a team. We need to be patient and support Babar.

“Gradually, Babar will learn from his mistakes if he continues as a captain in the future. I have played under him recently, and I have seen improvement in his captaincy.” Sarfaraz also shared his belief that Mohammad Amir is a more skilful pacer than Pakistan’s current ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. “I will put Asif at the number one position,” Sarfaraz responded.