"Why Is..." - Darren Lehmann Questions Sarfaraz Ahmed's Selection Over Mohammad Rizwan In Perth Test

Former Australian cricketer Darren Lehmann questioned Pakistan team management for playing Sarfaraz Ahmed over Mohammad Rizwan in the ongoing Perth Test. The first match of the series between the teams started today at WACA Stadium. 

Pakistan announced their playing XI one day before the game. They went with a 4-man pace attack with Agha Salman being the sole spinner. Another thing that caught the attention of many was they backed Sarfaraz Ahmed as keeper in the team over Mohammad Rizwan, who is touted as one of the best Pakistan players. 

Sarfaraz Ahmed was picked in the team as keeper based on his previous outings. But this didn’t go well with many. They raised calls for the inclusion of Mohammad Rizwan in the team and also criticized team management a lot for their selection process. 

Sarfaraz Ahmed had a decent outing in the game but he missed one stumping chance which did nothing but add more salt to the debate between him and Rizwan. The former picked two catches but missed a stumping opportunity of David Warner at 141. Thankfully, it didn’t cost much as after 20-odd runs the batter got out. 

After the play on the first day concluded, Mohammad Rizwan was seen having a keeping session. Watching this, Darren Lehmann wasn’t impressed as he wanted the keeper-batter in the XI instead of Sarfaraz Ahmed. 

Here’s Darren Lehmann’s Post On Mohammad Rizwan:

Why is he not ?‍♂️

— Darren Lehmann (@darren_lehmann) December 14, 2023

AUS vs PAK: Pakistan managed 5 wickets on Day 1 of the Perth Test; Australia post 346 

Australia had a dominating day in Perth with the bat as they used the home conditions to the full extent. They opted to bat first and their openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja (41) were tested by the Pakistan bowlers with a new ball. But they negotiated the tricky phase and added 126 runs for the opening partnership. 

After that, Steve Smith (31), and Travis Head (40) also chipped in with valiant hands but the real hero was David Warner. He slammed a sensational century. The batter scored 164 runs off 211 balls with 16 fours and 4 sixes. His innings powered Australia to 346/5 at stumps on Day 1. Pakistan bowlers struggled to get going but picked up five wickets. Apart from Agha Salman everyone has picked a wicket.