Sarfaraz’s wife confident he will make a strong comeback

• 'He is a fighter and will come back', says Sarfaraz Ahmed's wife.
• The ODI captain's wife says the wicket-keeper batsman respects PCB's decision.

The Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) announcement to sack Sarfaraz Ahmed from captaincy in Test and T20I formats rocked the cricketing world with many fans and pundits considering the decision as an end to Sarfaraz’s career.

However, Sarfaraz’s wife has dismissed speculations and believes that the wicket-keeper batsman would make a strong return for his national side. “It is not the end of the road for him. He will be able to play burden-free now,” said Khushbakht Shah, while talking to Deccan Chronicles.

“Why should he retire now? He is only 32. How old is [MS] Dhoni? Has he retired at his current age?” she questioned. “My husband will make a strong come back. He is a fighter and will come back,” she added.

Speaking about PCB’s decision, the wife of Pakistan ODI captain said Sarfaraz is not disappointed with his sacking. “No, neither I nor my husband is disappointed. It is PCB's decision and we have to respect it,” she said.

The PCB announced on Friday Azhar Ali as the national cricket team captain for Pakistan’s World Test Championship matches in the 2019-20 season. Meanwhile, Babar Azam was named captain of the No.1 ranked T20I side until next year’s ICC T20 World Cup Australia 2020, which is now exactly one year away.

Many former cricketers has slammed the cricketing board for taking the decision in haste, as series against Australia nears. “Sarfaraz should have been continued as captain for the series against Australia next month while Babar should have been assigned as his deputy," said former captain Javed Miandad.

“Though Sarfaraz's performance had gone down as a batsman but he was an excellent wicket-keeper and the board should have given him some time to recover," he added.