PSL experience will help in captaincy: Sarfraz

Dubai - The 29-year-old has relished the role, as is evident from the results he has managed to achieve over the two years

Pakistan wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed has said that the experiences in the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) has helped him grow in the captaincy role and will come in handy in the future.
Sarfraz has been the skipper of the Quetta Gladiators franchise from the inaugural edition and continues to do so in the second year as well.
And the 29-year-old has relished the role, as is evident from the results he has managed to achieve over the two years.
He has guided a team including the likes of Kevin Pietersen to the runners-up spot last year and the team are in the play-offs this year.
Sarfraz was also installed as Pakistan's T20 captain last year after Shahid Afridi stepped down and he piloted them to a series victory over the West Indies here in the UAE.
Sarfraz has now been appointed as the ODI captain, taking over from Azhar Ali and is also being looked as a prospect for the Test captaincy, whenever Misbah-ul-Haq steps down.
And Sarfraz said different and difficult situations in the PSL will help him evolve in the role.
"It is a good experience for me because I'm coming across different situations in the PSL," said Sarfraz.
"If you look at our last two matches, we have been in different situations and scenarios. And I feel this year's PSL is tougher than the previous one because teams are tougher and more competitive. So, I'm getting to learn a lot of new things when it comes to captaincy. So, I hope that these experiences will help me in the future," he added.
The Quetta Gladiators have replicated the same form from last year and were the first team to make it to the play-offs. But they did encounter a few obstacles, losing a winning game against defending champions Islamabad United on Friday night and then went down in a low-scoring affair to Peshawar Zalmi.
But Sarfraz looked at the positive side by saying that it was a wake-up call and a good sign to get those losses under the belt early.
"Perhaps, it is a good sign that it is a wake-up call for us, losing both these matches. So, it is probably good that we lost one or two matches and maybe we might go on and perform really, going forward," Sarfraz said.
And Sarfraz also said that another good thing was that they didn't lost a game one-sided, and which only went on to show the team's fighting spirit.
"The good thing for us is that we never lost a match one-sided. We fought hard and gave our best in every game. We had the game in our hands against Islamabad United but unfortunately, we made mistakes and we lost it," he said.
"Even tonight (Saturday), even though score was low, the team showed tremendous fighting spirit. And that's the most important thing. Even though we have lost two games, the team is not low on confidence. We did make mistakes but the boys are giving it their all and we hope that whatever position we are in, in the play-offs, we will try and rectify our mistakes and put in a good performance," added Sarfraz.
james@khaleejtimes.com