Sports

Sarfraz identifies three reasons for Champions Trophy triumph

Hard work, prayers and Allah's help made it possible, says Pakistan captain

Saleem Khaliq June 19, 2017

PHOTO: AFP

LONDON: Pakistan's Champions Trophy-winning captain Sarfraz Ahmed believes his team's triumph against the odds couldn't have been possible without the "boys' hard work, the public's prayers and Allah's help."

In an exclusive interview with Roznama Express, Sarfraz, who is highly religious and a Hafiz-e-Quran, said: "It is the holy month of Ramzan and everyone was fasting and praying, so yes those prayers have definitely been answered. The way we won the game against Sri Lanka and South Africa, it couldn't have been possible without the boys' hard work, the public's prayers and Allah's help."

Classic win wins all-round plaudits

When asked how he juggled cricket and Ramzan, Sarfraz added: "It is very difficult to fast between matches, especially 50-over matches, but yes whenever there were free days, I fasted."

Contrary to a popular notion, Sarfraz says his team did go into the tournament to win despite their low ranking.

"Yes, our target was to come here and win the Champions Trophy, but the way the boys bounced back [after an early setback], they deserve all the praise."

He also reserved special praise for the Inzamamul Haq-led selection committee for providing him the tools to mastermind the Champions Trophy triumph.

ICC Champions Trophy : Pak-India final brings Lahore to a standstill

"I am very thankful to the selection committee for providing me all the players we asked them for," said Sarfraz. "Inzi bhai (Inzamamul Haq) especially, I will give him and his team a lot of credit for helping and supporting us. In fact, he always tells me that if you need a particular player, just ask."

COMMENTS (1)

israr | 7 years ago | Reply that's nice to hear .. chief selector supporting the captain, I strongly recommend rotation policy, 20-23 plays must be there with 18 at least playing regularly in 1 series or the other, like fakhar zaman see if sherjeel khan can comeback to the playing 18, hussain talat is not only a top order batsman but a fine bowler a medium pacer, fakhar should be bowling regularly 4-5 overs in an game or every other game, I understand safi needs players with attitude like imad and ahmad but they need to perform, azhar has shown immense improvement may be it was captaincy pressure now he is playing freely, accidently we have found the best place for hafeez is no 5 or 6 I prefer him at 6 so safi can bat at 4 malik 5, the replacement for hafeez or malik should be ready and harris must be played again rotation policy everyone gets 2-3 games in a series with few exceptions, fahim and shadab needs to be looked after no talking to strangers and let the pcb know straightaway ... Nawaz need to come back to the side he is brilliant bowler and excellent bat, asad raza, saud shakeel and umar amin must be given chance as well

Replying to X