When Sarfaraz, some years back took the country by storm with century after century, I was among those who started believing Pakistan had discovered its own Gilchrest and Dhoni. But then some mad men in the management setup of cricket in the country decided to put three crowns on the not-so-sturdy head of the wicketkeeper-batsman. He was first made captain of the swashbuckling T-20 form of cricket. Then he was crowned with the responsibility of skippering the 50-50 form. That would have been enough and Sarfaraz could have learnt to handle the pressure of a game in which a win earns laurels and a defeat lands like a punch on one’s chin.
But the all-knowing cricket experts from Karachi launched such a strong blitz in favour of ‘squeezing maximum benefits’ from the regularly eulogized wicket-keeper’s natural cricketing knowledge and leadership skills that Inzaman’s selection team didn’t think twice before announcing: a worthy successor to Kardar, Imran Khan and Misbah has been found.
I had no intention of writing this piece if I hadn’t read Sarfaraz’s statement that it is time Batsmen must take responsibility.
Yes off course they should. Including your goodself Mr Sarfaraz! You too are a batsmen. And you bat at a position where batters of the quality of Gilchrist, and Dhoni have batted. The role of the Number Seven batsman in Test Cricket is either to halt a collapse or to accelerate a victory.
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