Babar Azam was nowhere near Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain: Basit Ali

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has placed wicket-keeping batter Sarfaraz Ahmed well above Babar Azam in captaincy and leadership skills.

During an appearance on ARY Podcast, the former cricketer lauded the captaincy skills and leadership qualities of Ahmed during his tenure as Pakistan captain.

“He was a born leader. Nobody could match him in the context of captaincy and the guts he had,” he said.

Comparing the captaincy skills of Babar Azam and Sarfaraz Ahmed, Basit Ali said that the former was nowhere near the wicket-keeping batter.

“Sarfaraz never thought about himself. In the Champions Trophy [2017], he batted at No. 5 position and then at the No. 7 position as he believed it was useful for the team,” Basit Ali maintained.

The former cricketer also praised Sarfaraz Ahmed for his player-developing skills and placed him alongside former captains such as Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Rashid Latif.

According to Basit Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed was unjustly removed from the captaincy role to make way for Babar Azam to become the Pakistan captain.

The former Pakistan cricketer lamented the lack of support for Ahmed when he was removed from captaincy despite leading Pakistan to victory in the Champions Trophy 2017.

“Social media explodes when Babar Azam or Mohammad Rizwan is removed from captaincy. But nobody spoke up for Sarfaraz Ahmed at the time,” Basit Ali said.

Erstwhile in the podcast, the former cricketer also called for sidelining the star batter from the Pakistan T20I team.

According to Ali, the former Pakistan captain should be part of the ODI side and play at the No. 3 position.

However, he was of the view that Babar Azam should not be picked in the Pakistan T20I team.