Among the many woes of being a Pakistani cricket fan is the glorious uncertainty associated with Pakistan cricket and, in particular, the batting department. As former England captain Nasser Hussain aptly put it once, “one is never too sure which Pakistan is going to turn up” for a match.
But if there is one thing that has become almost a surety with Pakistan’s batting it is the inability to find a reliable opening pair. Often Pakistan has had to resort to makeshift openers to do the job. The 2015 World Cup was a classic example of that. With Hafeez ruled out courtesy an injury, Nasir Jamshed was tipped as the miracle everyone was waiting for despite his vulnerability against the short ball.
However, Nasir’s performance — two ducks and a single run in three matches combined with some abysmal fielding — almost sealed Pakistan’s chances in the tournament.
The worth of a player is in his ability to cope with the odds stacked against him
All this while, a rather overlooked diminutive man, Sarfraz Ahmed, sat in the pavilion waiting for an opportunity to play. His exclusion from the playing XI baffled fans and critics alike. The team management, in a fix due to lack of options, gave Sarfaraz the green signal to play his first match against South Africa and that, too, as an opener.
Recalling this opportunity Sarfraz says: “I was hoping that Pakistan would lose the toss and South Africa would opt to bat first, but South Africa decided to field first after winning the toss due to overcast conditions. I was nervous, naturally, as it was my first game in the World Cup, and that too as an opener. However, Mushtaq Ahmad really encouraged me to just go out there and play my natural game.
“The first ball I faced of Dale Steyn was a zipper outside off stump and I was beaten for pace. At that moment I thought to myself that there is no point in worrying about how I will cope here. I just have to believe in myself and that I can do this.”
Next over, Kyle Abbott ran in from the other end and bowled his second ball fuller and dipping in. This time Sarfraz latched on it and flicked it away for a four. It was not the boundary but the spirit with which it was played that set the stage for a man determined to show guts and grit so lacking in the team. From there on there was no holding back. Sarfraz found his comfort zone against J.P. Duminy when he smashed him for three sixes in the over — two over deep midwicket and one over cover. The direction of the match was then decided. Even though his innings ended at 49, Sarfraz showed everyone how it is done by matching aggression with aggression.
When questioned on his long omission from the side, the management simply stated that he lacked the technique to play on the bouncy tracks of Australia and New Zealand — a reasoning that was contradicted by what everyone saw against South Africa. Sarfraz then went on to score 101 in 124 balls in the match against Ireland, an innings that was indicative of his versatility, with only six boundaries and a masterly display of a rare art in Pakistan, i.e. rotation of the strike. Pakistan with a reputedly high dot ball percentage has suffered in the shorter formats due to this very reason — a lack of intent to score by playing the typical slog-or-block cricket with very little to offer in terms of improvisation and strike rotation.