ENG v PAK 2020: Very tough for Sarfaraz to displace incumbent Rizwan in Pakistan XI: Harsha Bhogle

However, Harsha termed "fighter" Sarfaraz Ahmed as a "really good player".

Sarfaraz is currently preparing for the England Tests | PCB Twitter

Ahead of England-Pakistan series, Harsha Bhogle, a well-known cricket commentator and journalist, said he has always admired Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed while advocating his fighting spirit.

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Ahmed is currently in England with the Pakistan squad for a three-match T20I series and three Tests in August-September. Pakistan’s 2017 Champions Trophy-winning captain has been struggling to find himself in the XI ever since he was stripped off from the captaincy.

However, Bhogle, who is widely acknowledged as the voice of Indian cricket, believes that Pakistan cricket didn’t get as much out of Sarfaraz, but said with keeper Mohammad Rizwan having cemented his place already, the former captain must put in hard work to win back his spot in the national side.

Bhogle admitted that Sarfaraz faces a tough fight to replace Rizwan as Pakistan’s go-to wicketkeeper-batsman and even he also feels the latter would be picked in the playing XI over former captain in the upcoming Test series starting with the first Test on August 5 at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground.

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As per Sportskeeda, Bhogle said “Rizwan has come along and has got some really good scores in limited-overs cricket. He was part of that big partnership with Babar Azam in Australia, so he has shown that he can play. It is now up to Sarfaraz to come back into the side and displace the incumbent. The incumbent is now Rizwan, which is very clear.”

He signed off by saying, “I always had a lot of time for Sarfaraz as a player. I thought he was a genuine batsman. Sarfaraz is a really good player and there is a fighter in him. I always thought that Pakistan cricket didn’t get as much out of Sarfaraz as I thought he was capable of.”

(With Sportskeeda Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 13 Jul, 2020

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