ICC World Cup 2019 | PCB chairman telephones Sarfaraz Ahmed, asks him to focus on upcoming matches

When Chairman Mani called up Sarfaraz after the humiliation against India, he had a few words of advice. According to IANS reports, Mani assured the captain of the nation’s support and asked the players to focus on winning the remaining four matches. 

Plenty of questions have risen up about Sarfaraz’s captaincy and his authority over his teammates but the chairman wasn’t wavered by any of it. He told the team to ignore baseless stories circulating in the media. Instead, the unanimous message from home, according to the chairman, is for the captain to keep calm and lead the team well in the following matches. 

This comes on the back of a report claiming that Sarfaraz had warned teammates of a potential backlash when the team returns home. "If God forbid something unfortunate happens then I won't be the only one going back home," Sarfaraz was quoted saying. 

Clearly, all isn’t well in the Pakistan camp. But, the boost of confidence from the chairman could lift them as they face South Africa next, in a must-win match. Pakistan are ninth in the table, with three points from five games.