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Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has admitted that he does get agitated on the field quite a lot. He, however, asserted that whatever happens on the field stays on it and doesn’t affect his off-field equation with players.
Quetta Gladiators had a rough time in PSL 2021 as they lost four of their five matches before the tournament was suspended due to COVID-related breaches. In a number of games, Gladiators skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed was seen losing his cool.
In an interview with Cricket Pakistan, though, Sarfaraz Ahmed clarified that there was nothing much to it and he was just disappointed with the team for failing to grab their opportunities.
The former Pakistan captain explained:
“It is just my style (to be expressive). During crunch time, and when you are not doing well, it is important to avail all the opportunities that come your way. But all these things (getting angry) happen on the ground, nothing is taken off the field. Everything is normal once we come out of the ground.”
Quetta Gladiators began their PSL 2021 campaign with a loss to Karachi Kings by seven wickets. They subsequently also went down to Lahore Qalandars (nine wickets), Peshawar Zalmi (three wickets) and Islamabad United (six wickets).
They opened their account with a 22-run triumph over Multan Sultans before PSL 2021 was suspended.
Fielding let us down: Sarfaraz Ahmed
Asked to analyze what went wrong for Quetta Gladiators in the first four games, Sarfaraz Ahmed felt that the team did not do badly, but it was the fielding that cost them in a big way.
He elaborated:
“If you look back at the five matches, we did reasonably well, but the major factor that let us down was fielding. We were really poor in that department. We missed catches and run-outs at important times and that was a major setback, which is why we lost so many matches.”
With the emergence of Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed’s opportunities in the Pakistan playing XI have dried up. He played only one ODI in South Africa and one T20I in Zimbabwe. The 34-year-old, though, is happy to be part of the team setup and wants to keep learning.
He asserted:
“There is nothing to be disheartened about. My aim when I am with the Pakistan team is to improve my skills and fitness as much as possible. Irrespective of whether you are playing or not, when you are part of the team, you get a chance to interact and learn from top coaches. We have Misbah-Ul-Haq, Younis Khan and we also get a chance to work with Mohammad Yousuf sometimes. So we get a lot to learn from these great players. I always try to keep on learning and, even when I play PSL games, I try to implement what I have learnt and do my best on the field."
Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Quetta Gladiators will resume their PSL 2021 campaign when they face Islamabad United in Abu Dhabi on June 3.
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