'He is better' - Sarfaraz Ahmed breaks silence on competition with Mohammad Rizwan

Former Pakistan captain and senior wicketkeeper-batter, Sarfaraz Ahmed, recently shared his thoughts on his competition with Mohammad Rizwan. Ahmed admitted that Rizwan is currently the better wicketkeeper than him in Pakistan.

Sarfaraz shared insights into his career as well as addressed the comparison between him and Rizwan regarding their wicketkeeping and batting skills during a sports show on a local news channel. Without any hesitation, Sarfaraz admitted that Rizwan is currently the best wicketkeeper-batsman in Pakistan.

Mohammad Rizwan has become more mature with time: Sarfaraz Ahmed

According to A Sports, Sarfaraz Ahmed said on the show: “Mohammad Rizwan has become more mature with time. The way he has been playing, everything about him has improved. So, I think, currently he is the better wicketkeeper batter.”

Sarfaraz also shared insights on player development, stressing the importance of consistent opportunities for building confidence and enhancing performance at the highest level.

Addressing comparisons between himself and Rizwan, the former Pakistan captain said that their performances were similar during his tenure, but the consistent chances helped the latter grow faster and more.

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He strongly believes that consistent opportunities play a key role in a player's confidence and improvement. He stressed that more opportunities in international cricket would refine players’ skills and help them become better performers.

Sarfaraz said that Rizwan is thriving due to consistent opportunities that have bolstered his confidence and improved his skills. Meanwhile, Sarfaraz also shared valuable advice for emerging wicketkeeper-batters like Azam Khan, Mohammad Haris, Haseebullah Khan, Rohail Nazir, and Saad Baig, who have the potential to become main wicketkeepers in the future.

Young players should be given more chances: Sarfaraz Ahmed

He highlighted the importance of these players gaining exposure and experience, especially by participating in four-day domestic cricket matches. Sarfaraz also mentioned that Pakistan has a strong pool of talented players like Azam, Haris, Haseebullah, and Rohail Nazir.

Sarfaraz also stressed the importance of young players consistently participating in domestic cricket to get the necessary exposure and experience to excel at the international level.

He said on the show, “Look, the wicketkeepers we have like Azam, Haris and Haseebullah, apart from them Rohail Nazir was in the pipeline. There are more kids like Saad Baig from Under-19. So, we have the potential and the more they play cricket, especially four-day domestic, the more they’ll get experience and will perform well for Pakistan.”

Notably, Sarfaraz made his debut for Pakistan in 2007 and represented his country in all three formats of the game. He also captained Pakistan to the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy victory. Despite valuable contributions to Pakistan cricket, he faced criticism for his batting form.

Meanwhile, it is being said that Rizwan and star all-rounder Shadab Khan are strong contenders for the Pakistan cricket team’s vice-captain role, with the final decision expected to be out soon.

According to Cricket Pakistan, Rizwan is a frontrunner for the vice-captaincy. On the other hand, some PCB officials consider Shadab a strong candidate for the role, having been impressed with his captaincy in the PSL with Islamabad United and his previous stint as Pakistan's T20I captain.