'Sad To See Such News' - Sarfaraz Rubbishes Leaving Pakistan Claims 

image-lrn17fo4Sarfaraz Ahmed [X.com]

Sarfaraz Ahmed was fuming over reported claims of him leaving Pakistan and migrating to the United Kingdom over lack of opportunities in the senior national side. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter rubbished the "fabricated news" on his name and urged the Pakistani media to do better. 

Sarfaraz crushed the rumour that did the rounds on Saturday (January 20) after Pakistani media had reported that the player plans on retiring for his country and is shifting base to England where he could ply his trade for one of the County Championship clubs.


"I can’t even think of leaving Pakistan. Confirm before running such fabricated news," Sarfaraz said in an interview with Pakistan-based 'Samaa Digital'. "Sad to see such news."

Sarfaraz Quashes England Migration Reports 

Sarfaraz, the former Pakistan captain, last played for the national side early in December when he was given the nod ahead of Mohammad Rizwan for the first Test in Perth against Australia. A pair of failures in the game, however, compelled skipper Shan Masood to bring Rizwan back in the side for the last two Tests. 

Since then, Rizwan's impressive showings in Melbourne and Sydney seemed to have given him his spot back and closed the door on his backup once again. The experienced wicketkeeper-batter had earned a surprise comeback in the playing XI since the two-match Test series against New Zealand in late 2022. 

Sarfaraz, 36, has been the protagonist of a sad tale in Pakistan cricket, facing a drop from the pedestal since Pakistan won the 2017 Champions Trophy under his captaincy. 

During his term, Pakistan also reached the No.1 rank in T20I cricket after a brilliant run in bilateral assignments and fell a win short of securing a semifinal berth at the 2019 World Cup in England, which led to his sacking.