Bowlers unhappy with Sarfraz's criticism after Cape Town defeat: reports

CAPE TOWN: Pakistan bowlers are reportedly unhappy with their skipper Sarfraz Ahmed’s criticism after Cape Town defeat.

Sarfraz, in his post-match conference on Sunday, had dumped the blame of defeat on the bowlers. “Our bowling was not up to the mark,” the captain had said. “Our bowling average speed was 130 (kilometres an hour), South Africa were bowling at 145. Our bowling was far better (in the first Test) in Centurion.”

Apart from being down on pace, Sarfraz had said the bowlers delivered too many loose balls to provide scoring opportunities for the South African batsmen.

According to team sources, the bowlers are unhappy with the criticism and are of the opinion that any wins the team has amassed till now is because of them. Sarfraz's comments regarding their performance were discouraging, the sources said. 

The sources added that the team atmosphere has been unpleasant ever since the press conference. 

In the meantime, rumours have been floating around that Sarfraz was considering stepping down as the national team captain. Sources in the team, however, refuted the reports. 

South Africa defeated Pakistan by nine wickets in the second Test at Newlands. They also won the first Test in Centurion by six wickets and lead the three-match Test series 2-0. 

The third and final Test starts in Johannesburg on Friday.