Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has revealed that he asked head coach Saqlain Mushtaq and skipper Babar Azam to pick Sarfaraz Ahmed during the Test series against New Zealand.
Rizwan said that he didn't miss the two-match series against New Zealand because he wanted to rest but stated that he didn't deserve to play the Tests.
"It is true that I talked about playing Sarfaraz Ahmed. I went to Saqlain bhai myself. They were talking about giving me a rest. I said don't say the words of rest for me. I first told this to the head coach, then the captain was near the ground, I also told the captain that my performance is not such that I deserve to play in the team," he said, in a press conference before his side Multan Sultans' Pakistan Super League (PSL) opener, on Sunday.
"Then some players told me that you are not scoring a fifty, but you are scoring. Apart from that, you are a wicketkeeper too. But I declined because I felt I was not deserving. Saifi bhai [Sarfaraz Ahmed] was performing well, and then when he saved the matches with his performances," he added.
The Multan Sultans will kick off their PSL campaign against defending champions Qalandars in a rematch of the grand final of the seventh edition of the event.
The two sides will take on each other at the Multan Cricket Stadium after an opening ceremony on February 13.
Talking about the PSL opener, the wicket-keeper batter said: "We have to play boldly in the first match against Lahore. Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf are world-class bowlers.
Rizwan also claimed that there would be a good crowd in Multan, which would benefit the home side.
The opening ceremony of PSL 8 will be held in Multan on February 13 prior to the tournament opener; meanwhile, the closing ceremony and final will be played on March 19 in Lahore, which will also host play-offs.
Rawalpindi will stage 11 fixtures, Karachi and Lahore will host nine matches each, whereas Multan will have five home games.
Multan Sultans are the most successful team (by win ratio) in the PSL as they have a win percentage of 57.54. The franchise also holds the record for the highest margin win (by runs) in the PSL, as they beat Quetta Gladiators by 117 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on February 18, 2022.
Squad
Mohammad Rizwan, Khushdil Shah, Rilee Rossouw, Shan Masood, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tim David, Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah, David Miller, Josh Little, Akeal Hosein, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Sameen Gul, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Sarwar, Arafat Minhas, Kieron Pollard, Amad Butt
Partial replacements: Wayne Parnell and Izharulhaq Naveed
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.- Sarfaraz Ahmed