5 reasons why Sarfraz Ahmed can become a great captain

#4 Learns from mistakes

Sarfraz Ahmed has his task cut out in dealing with the Test team's transitional phase

During the group match against India at Edgbaston in the 2017 Champions Trophy, Pakistan won the toss under overcast conditions and chose to bowl first. Captaining against the arch-rivals for the first time in his career at the senior level, the extreme hype and frenzy began to tell on Sarfraz.

Even as the setting was apt for the pace bowlers to make early inroads, the skipper surprisingly wasted the new-ball by bringing in Imad Wasim from the other end. The openers latched on to the fatal error and established a solid platform for India to dominate from the outset.

Exactly a couple of weeks later, the two rivals met again. This time around, Virat Kohli committed a blunder by deciding to bowl first on a flat surface at The Oval. Defending a humongous total, Sarfraz sent an uncomplicated message to an in-form top-order by unleashing his fast bowlers at the start of the innings. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sarfraz has already shown a tendency to publicly acknowledge his mistakes and learn from them. Such an approach to the game should augur well for the Test team.

Having suffered an ignominious 0-2 defeat in the Test series versus Sri Lanka in the UAE, Pakistan's young players have to imbibe their captain's philosophy in order to rise from the abyss.