Sarfaraz basks in century glory

Wicket-keeper batsman thrilled after historic innings.

DUBAI:

Pakistan has finally found a consistent run-scorer in Sarfaraz Ahmed, and the wicketkeeper-batsman is eager to continue his prolific run that has helped him become a permanent member of both one-day and Test’s playing eleven.

The youngster has looked an altogether different player ever since his comeback against Sri Lanka back in January this year — seemingly piling on runs for fun at a very high strike rate.

The early part of his career was difficult for him, as he could not cement his place after a start-and-stop phase of his tenure with the national team.

But now that he has finally started to enjoy his cricket, Sarfaraz is eager to continue his impressive form.

“It’s always nice to score crucial runs for your team and if my innings can help Pakistan, then I’ll be more than happy,” said Sarfaraz, who scored a blistering 109 on the second day of the first Test against Australia.

“My mantra so far has been to back my natural game and score runs instead of being bogged down. It’s a special feeling to know that I’ve scored the second-fastest Test century by a wicketkeeper and fourth-fastest century by a Pakistani batsman.

“Honestly speaking, all these things were not on my mind and just happened with the flow.”

The 27-year-old now has scores of 48, 55, 52 (not out), 103, 55 and 109 in the last six innings at an average of 84.4, and he credited the team management’s backing for his recent form.

“Earlier in my career, I was short on confidence and didn’t know about my place in the side. But now Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed and others are backing me, which has improved my confidence. This is the reason for this sudden turnaround in my career.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2014.

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