Former Pakistani skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who led the Men in Green to a historic win over India in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, has picked himself as the best Pakistani skipper. The 35-year-old, who made a stunning comeback to the Pakistani Test team after a gap of almost four years during the two-match Test series against New Zealand in December 2022–January 2023, has chosen himself as the best captain of the Men in Green side over the likes of current skipper Babar Azam and former Test and ODI captain Azhar Ali.
Sarfaraz, who was the captain of the Pakistan team that won the U-19 World Cup title in 2006, was handed the leadership responsibilities of the Men in Green in 2015. He led the side in 13 Tests, 50 ODIs, and 37 T20I matches, winning 4, 28, and 29 matches, respectively. He was the captain of the Pakistani team that handed India a humiliating defeat by 180 runs in the final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, which was played at the Oval on June 18, 2017.
The wicketkeeper-batter, who is leading Quetta Gladiators in the ongoing season of Pakistan Super League (PSL), recently made an appearance on a TV show in Pakistan, and during that, when the host asked him to choose who’s the better captain between Babar, Azhar, and Sarfaraz himself, the right-handed batter picked himself over the other two and said, “Sarfaraz Ahmed,” and later on added, “Kisi ko naaraz karne se behtar hai ki apna he naam le lo (It’s better to take your own name rather than making anybody else angry).”
Sarfaraz, who hasn’t played a white-ball game for Pakistan since November 2021, made a sensational return to Test cricket during the two-match Test series against the reigning ICC World Test Championship winners New Zealand last month. The Karachi-born was preferred over Mohammad Rizwan for the two home matches, and he justified his selection by making 86, 53, 78, and 118 runs in four innings.
