‘Not try to hide behind excuses’: Sarfaraz vows comeback against England

Pakistan cricket captain Sarfaraz Ahmed says that he would not try ‘to hide behind excuses’ and remains confident on his side ability to bounce back in the next match.

“I know our fans will be disappointed with the manner in which we played in our World Cup opener against the West Indies. We are hurt too as no one wants to lose a World Cup match like that. All those who have played this great game will vouch the pain the players undergo following such an ordinary performance,” stated Sarfaraz, quoted PCB.

“What went wrong? I can say a number of things, but by stating those facts I will not try to hide behind excuses.”

The skipper said that the team was prepared for short pitch deliveries, but the loss of wickets in the early goings dented the team’s charge against West Indies.

“I would pinpoint Andre Russell's two wickets of Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail. That shook us in the Powerplay and when you lose three top-order wickets in the first ten overs, it going gets tougher.”

Sarfaraz also blamed the batsmen poor shot selection and their inability to form partnerships as reason behind Pakistan batting collapse.

Talking about the team’s selection, Sarfraz gave his reasoning behind the non-selection of aggressive middle order batsman Asif Ali, saying that he wanted to play ‘with full batsmen and bowlers.’

“Why we did not play Asif Ali? It was because we wanted to play with full batsmen and bowlers -- five bowlers and six batsmen – with Mohammad Hafeez our off-spinner who we wanted to use against their left-handers.”

The skipper lauded fast bowler Mohammad Amir, who was the lone wicket taker for Pakistan picking up three wickets for 26 runs against the Windies.

“Despite the defeat, I am confident that we have the ability to bounce back. We have to back ourselves and not think too much about what happened in the first game.

“England are a tough team but we have played them in a series recently. So, all we need is to play at our potential and come up with a win.

“I am sure you will see a good show from us in the next game.”