Akhtar who is known for not mincing his words strongly felt that the Pakistan team management has disrespected former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed by making him carry out 12th-man duties on the second day of the 3-match series opener against England in Manchester.
Shoiab's pointed remarks came after he spotted a visual where Sarfaraz was seen carrying drinks and shoes for spin all-rounder Shadab Khan during the 71st over. Akhtar felt that for an experienced campaigner like Sarfaraz to carry shoes for Shadab Khan post Mohammad Rizwan's dismissal was a highly disrespectful treatment dished out to a former Pakistan captain.
Akhtar went onto criticize Sarfaraz by stating that the former Pakistani skipper was also to blame for agreeing to perform the 12th man duties and reflected on his rather weak and docile character. He took a sarcastic dig at Sarfaraz, stating that he would have led Pakistan in the same way like he carried shoes. He rounded off by adding that Sarfaraz's weak leadership led him to get dominated by coach former Pakistani coach Mickey Arthur.
“I didn’t like the visual. If you want to make an example out of a boy from Karachi, then it is wrong. You can’t do this to a player who has led Pakistan for four years and has won Champions Trophy for the country. You made him carry shoes. If he has done it himself, then stop him. Wasim Akram never brought shoes for me,” Shoaib Akhtar said on Boss News.
However, Misbah-Ul-Haq, Pakistan’s coach and national selector did not read much into Akhtar’s remarks, saying Sarfaraz carrying shoes is not a sign of disrespect and that it only shows how great a team player the former Pakistan captain is.
“Sarfaraz is an excellent human being and player. He knows that it is a team game. When other players are practicing outside, so the player who is available has to help out. It is not a matter of disrespect. In fact, it is big of Sarfaraz that he doesn’t mind doing it. Plus, it is a sign of a good team,” Misbah said.
Sarfaraz has had some high moments under his captaincy as he led Pakistan to the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy victory in England, beating highly fancied arch rivals India in the finals. However, Pakistan’s dismal campaign at the 2019 ICC World Cup where they crashed out of the round robin stage dented Sarfaraz’s credentials as captain and he was axed as Pakistani captain from all three formats in October last year. Azhar Ali was appointed Test captain and Babar Azam was named T20I skipper, followed by him also taking over in ODIs.