Sarfaraz Ahmed was also widely criticised by the former cricketers for choosing to bowl first after winning the toss against India, including former Pakistan bowling spearhead Shoaib Akhtar calling him a “brainless captain”.
Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ehsan Mani. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani has told captain Sarfaraz Ahmed that they should focus on the remaining four matches of the tournament. The development came after Pakistan’s humiliating defeat to arch-rivals India on Sunday in the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2019.
According to news.com.pk, Mani phoned Sarfaraz on Tuesday and assured him that the entire nation stands by the team and expects an improved performance in the upcoming matches of the showpiece event.
Meanwhile, the PCB Chairman told Sarfaraz not to divert his attention from the game by giving attention to “baseless news stories” and asked him to keep calm and lead the team to better performance in the upcoming matches, the report added.
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This comes after the 32-year-old Pakistan skipper had reportedly warned his teammates of possible backlash at home in case they fail to improve in the remaining matches in the ongoing World Cup.
“If God forbid something unfortunate happens then I won’t be the only one going back home,” the skipper had reportedly said after Sunday’s game which Pakistan lost by 89 runs (DLS method) against India at the Old Trafford in Manchester.
Sarfaraz Ahmed was also widely criticised by the former cricketers for choosing to bowl first after winning the toss against India, including former Pakistan bowling spearhead Shoaib Akhtar calling him a “brainless captain”.
Pakistan – who have three points from five games – are placed ninth in the table, just above Afghanistan. They will next face South Africa in a must-win game on 23 June at the Lord’s.
(With inputs from IANS)
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