Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has advised captain and wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed to consult Mahendra Singh Dhoni over his fitness issues and lack of form.
“I think Sarfaraz needs to work on his fitness and skills a lot more. Unless he is in top form he can’t expect the team to respond,” said Yousuf. “Dhoni led India admirably in all three formats for a long time and performed not only as captain but also as a batsman and wicketkeeper. Sarfaraz can learn a lot from him,” he added.
Sarfaraz, who was made captain in all three formats last year after leading Pakistan to the Champions Trophy title, has come under pressure and criticism following Pakistan’s debacle in the one-day series in New Zealand.
Pakistan were whitewashed by New Zealand in the five- match ODI series. They also lost the first of three T20 Internationals.
To make matters worse for Sarfaraz, he scored just one fifty in six matches while his keeping has also come under scrutiny.
“Nothing wrong in giving Dhoni a call and chatting to him. He can give a lot of helpful tips to Sarfaraz on how to handle things because it is never easy when you are the keeper and also the captain ,”said Yousuf. He further emphasised that Sarfaraz had to realize that he needs to improve his fitness a lot more.
“I see him on the heavy side and he has to now focus on his batting and keeping a lot more. Dhoni can guide him on how he achieved so much success and how he had handled pressure of all responsibilities so well for so long,” he added.
