KARACHI: Pakistan’s Test team head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed has responded to criticism for taking over the role of coach in the national men’s senior team quota.
Speaking to the media at the Test team’s training camp ahead of the Bangladesh series, Sarfaraz said he was positive about his new role despite not making any noise on the outside.
“Look, ex-cricketers and my ex-colleagues have their own views. I am very positive about taking this new opportunity,” asserted Sarfaraz.
“My team management, including Umar Gul, Asad Shafiq, Grant Loudon and Abdul Saad, and I are very confident of coaching the team to victory,” he added.
The Pakistan Test team is currently training at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Center ahead of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh that is part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.
The series begins with the first Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka from May 8 to 12.
The second Test is scheduled to be played from May 16 to 20 at the Sylhet International Cricket Ground.
Asked about Babar Assam’s comeback in T20s, the former captain said Babar is back and the important thing about him is his technique.
“It is good to see Babar scoring runs, that too with a technical development. He is solid. Yes, he has scored runs in T20s, but once he joins us, we will see his role here as well,” he added.
Babar, who led Peshawar Zalmi to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 final in Karachi last night, will join the team after May 3.
Khurram Shezad and Shaun Masood will also join the team after the start of PSL 11.
Currently, Pakistan is at the fifth position in the ICC WTC rankings with 12 points. They have played only two matches this cycle, against South Africa in October 2025.
Later this year, Pakistan Test team will play Test series against England, Sri Lanka and West Indies.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh Test Series:
Shaun Masood (catch), Abdullah Fazal, Amat Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam ul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Muhammad Qazi Ghori (wk), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Shaki Agha, Salman Ali.