Sarfraz rejects claim ‘witchcraft’ caused defeat in Sri Lanka Tests

Pakistan skipper blames batsmen for the 2-0 whitewash in Tests against Sri Lanka

Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed believes witchcraft had nothing to do with his team's 2-0 whitewash in Tests at the hands of Sri Lanka, and instead blamed his batsmen for putting up a poor show.

Pakistan’s unbeaten record in the UAE was ended by Sri Lanka when they beat the hosts by 21 runs and 68 runs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively in the two Tests in September-October this year.

Sri Lanka Test captain Dinesh Chandimal claimed on Tuesday that his side’s win was aided by shamanism.

“I am always ready to accept the blessings of anyone — whether it is a maaniyo or any clergy," Chandimal had said. "You can have talent, but without this blessing you can't move forward."

He had said that the maaniyo he consulted was the mother of a friend.

However, Sarfraz, who led his side to ODI and T20I whitewashes after that Test ordeal, says he considers magic a reality but can’t believe his side lost due to it in Tests.

“We lost the two Tests because of our poor batting and that is all,” Sarfraz told media as quoted by Press Trust of India. “If they could win Test matches because of witchcraft or magic, then they should have also won the ODI and T20I series.”

Sarfraz added that as a Muslim he believes in the Holy Quran as well as the existence of magic, but he chose to blame his batsmen for the Test series defeat.