In his press conference before leaving for Zimbabwe, Pakistani captain Sarfraz Ahmed called MS Dhoni his biggest inspiration in cricket. "MS Dhoni has led his side well as a captain in all three formats of the game, so I definitely do get inspired by him,” he said.

Sarfraz was handed the reins of the ODI and Test team in 2017 and he led them to the ICC Champions Trophy title win, defeating India in the finals. He got the ODI captaincy after Azhar Ali stepped down and Misbah’s retirement from Test cricket, opened the gates to Sarfraz becoming the Test captain as well.

“I have only met him once, which was at the 4th June 2017 during the India-Pakistan game. When I look at him as a player and as a captain, I definitely get inspired by him,” Pakistan skipper added.

Dhoni became India captain in 2007, when he led India to the World T20 2007 title, beating Pakistan in the finals. He became the Test captain in 2008, as Anil Kumble retired from the game and continued to lead Team India in all the three formats until 2014 when he retired from Test cricket. Dhoni won the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 and ICC World Cup 2011, making him the only captain to win all the three major ICC trophies. He gave up captaincy in all formats in 2016.

Pakistan will face Australia and hosts Zimbabwe in a triangular T20I series and then play a five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. MS Dhoni is with team India on the tour to the UK, currently facing Ireland in the two-match T20I series.