Sarfraz to lead Pakistan in World Cup, announces PCB

Lahore, Feb 5 (IANS) Ending the confusion over Pakistan's World Cup captain, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday announced Sarfraz Ahmed as the team's leader in the showpiece event, starting May 30 in England and Wales.

Addressing a media conference here, PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani officially announced stumper Sarfraz, who is serving a four-ODI ban for his racist comments over South Africa's Andile Phehlukwayo recently, as the captain while stressing his skills and contribution to the team.

"There should be no doubt that Sarfraz is the Pakistan cricket team's captain. He will lead the team in the series against Australia and also in the World Cup," Mani said.

"Sarfraz has made great progress since he led the team in the Under-19 World Cup, he has only improved with time," he added.

The PCB chairman said he was always confident of seeing Sarfraz as Pakistan's captain.

"I was always clear in my mind that Sarfaraz would be the captain. Sarfaraz has been an integral part of the Pakistan's World Cup preparations. He has proved to be a good strategist, leader and performer," he said.

Sarfraz, who was banned for breaching the ICC's anti-racism policy during after his racial remarks, was also at the press conference and said he was thankful to the PCB for showing confidence in him.

"It is a great honour to join those players who have captained their teams in the World Cup. I feel proud and we will try our best to perform well there.

"I don't worry about if I would be the team's captain in a year's time or not. I focused on my responsibilities on a series-to-series basis and will continue to do so," he said.