South Africa vs Pakistan 2018/19: Sarfraz Ahmed's Criticism Leads To Rift Between Him And The Fast Bowlers

Well, it seems like Pakistan Cricket Team is failing to be united in the overseas tour. After the debacle in a couple of Test matches of the series, the skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed expressed that the Pakistan bowlers weren’t up to the mark in the second Test. Meanwhile, it didn’t go down well with the fast bowlers, who expressed their concerns in the dressing room.

Sarfraz Ahmed blamed the pace attack which includes the likes of Mohammed Amir, Mohammed Abbas, Shaheen Afridi and Hassan Ali. He termed that they failed to make an impact as a unit. At no point in the two matches did they look as penetrating as South African pace attack despite pitches and conditions aiding their cause.

Team is in the unpleasant atmosphere after the press conference – Sources

Mohammad Amir’s was one of those speedsters who experienced a considerable drop from the regular speed. The left-arm pacer bowled 61% of his deliveries between 120-132 kph, considerably less than his usual speed of around 140kph.

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I”If you talk about our bowling and their bowling, I think there’s a big difference in the two,” Sarfraz had said at the post-match press conference.

“The way our bowlers are bowling is not up to the mark in this Test match. If you see our bowlers, they’re bowling 128-129, and the average speed is 130, while their bowlers are bowling at 145. If you are going to bowl with that lack of pace here you won’t get wickets.”

According to team sources, the bowlers are unhappy with the criticism and are of the opinion that any wins the team has amassed till now is because of them. Sarfraz’s comments regarding their performance were discouraging, the sources said.

The sources added that the team atmosphere has been unpleasant ever since the press conference. In the meantime, rumours have been floating around that Sarfraz was considering stepping down as the national team captain. However, the sources confirmed that there is no such talk.

With the series already being bagged by South Africa, Pakistan would look to make few fine tunings to the side ahead of the third Test. The third and final Test is set to be started on January 11th at Johannesburg.