ICC World Cup 2019 | Aaqib Javed calls Safaraz Ahmed an “accidental” captain
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Aaqib Javed has hurled severe criticism at Pakistan captain Safaraz Ahmed, calling him a weak leader with no authority amongst his teammates. According to Javed, Sarfaraz was struggling for his place in the team when being made captain by “accident” by the cricket board after the 2015 World Cup.
In the aftermath of their humiliating 89-run loss against India, the Pakistan cricket team has been flooded with criticism from all around the world. Former World Cup-winner Aaqib Javed now joins the party to slam the captain as a “weak leader”.
“Sarfaraz is very, very weak, cannot show his authority on the field and off it as well. He cannot assert himself in front of even Inzamam (who is chief selector),” Javed was quoted as saying by Mumbai Mirror.
“Since 2015, Sarfaraz has been struggling for his place in the team. He became a captain by accident as the boards make changes after every World Cup. Since the 2017 Champions Trophy final, Pakistan have done nothing.”
Reminiscing of times gone by, Javed compared the golden era of Pakistan cricket to that of the current one. Putting that in perspective against how Indian cricket has evolved, he said: “That was a different era. The mindset of the Indian team of that era was what the Pakistan team is having now, a defensive mindset. It was not a winning mindset. When we would play India in the 90s, we never thought that we would not beat India. Things have changed. Now we can’t even imagine how Pakistan can beat India.”
Even in comparison, Aaqib attributes the positive changes in Indian cricket to strong captains in Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, and now, Virat Kohli. He feels that both teams are now beyond any comparison.
“India have gone far ahead of Pakistan in terms of batting, bowling, and fielding… there is no match between the sides. Basically, there is a huge gulf between the skill sets of the India and Pakistan teams,” explained the former cricketer.
