No excuse left for teams to not visit Pakistan: Sarfraz
April 04, 2018
KARACHI: Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has said that following the successful Pakistan vs West Indies series, there is no excuse left for other teams to not visit Pakistan to play cricket in the future.
Speaking to the media after Pakistan’s clean sweep in three-match T20I series against West Indies, the skipper said that Pakistan has proved that it can host international matches in a secure environment.
“We hosted PSL matches here. World XI team came to play. Sri Lankan team came here. West Indies team played. Now there is no excuse for other teams for not coming to Pakistan,” said Sarfraz.
“We have shown it to everyone that Pakistan can host international matches successfully,” he added.
The wicketkeeper-batsman also hailed the people of Karachi who came in large numbers to the National Stadium, cheering for the team and celebrating the return of cricket to the largest city of Pakistan.
“Karachiites proved in last three days why the city is called City of Lights,” he said.
“I want to appreciate the people of Karachi. There were inconveniences and several security checks, but they endured it all to support cricket in Pakistan."
Replying to a question, Sarfraz said that it would be unfair to term the visiting team a weaker side.
“We played better than them. It is not fair to call them a B side, and most of the players in the squad were here with experience of international cricket,” Sarfraz said while expressing satisfaction over the performance of youngsters.
“It is good that young players are coming in and performing. We gave an opportunity to all the players so that we can strengthen our bench too,” the captain stated.
Sarfraz brushed aside the debate that West Indies sent a second string team, saying that no one was asked to send a second string team. It was a team from West Indies and Pakistani players treated the team as such, he said.
The skipper, meanwhile, announced that he would donate his match fees from the third T20I to the ground staff of the National Stadium.
