Akhtar rips into Sarfaraz, calls him ‘fat and unfit’

New Delhi, June 1 (IANS) Pakistan's meek surrender in their match against West Indies hasn't gone down well with former pacer Shoaib Akhtar and the bowler who was known to send shivers down the spine of opposition batsmen with his pace has ripped apart skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and called him one of the most unfit cricketers in this generation.

According to a senior Pakistani journalist Saj Sadiq, Shoaib called him 'unfit'. "When Sarfaraz Ahmed came for the toss, his stomach was sticking out and his face was so fat. He's the first captain I've seen who is so unfit. He's not able to move across and he's struggling with wicket-keeping," Sadiq tweeted.

Writing "Speechless" himself, Akhtar then tweeted: "Ok the match is over. Recollecting my thoughts and emotions. We have to back these boys, they are representing our nation. They need our support throughout the World Cup," he said.

"It's a disappointing performance of Team Pakistan, let's not disheart them more and back them up," Akhtar wrote in the third and final tweet.

Speaking after the game on Friday, skipper Sarfaraz said his batting department failed to click, resulting in a defeat for his side. "If you lose the toss in these conditions, and lose wickets, it's hard to come back into the game. Have to play positive cricket here. Didn't do well as a batting unit today. We know they're going to come hard with their pace bowlers. We didn't play well against the short ball."

He however, seemed confident of making a comeback in the tournament and showered praise on pacer Mohammad Amir, who picked up three wickets for just 26 runs. "Today was a bad day. Confident my team will bounce back. Good to see Amir bowling well. Always good support here in England," Sarfaraz said.

Pakistan next play England at Trent Bridge on Monday and they will have their task cut out as the Englishmen are looking confident and thrashed South Africa in their opening game.