Sarfaraz Ahmed responds to criticism over Pakistan Test coaching role

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Test team head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed responded to criticism over taking coaching role of national men’s senior team assignment role.

In a media talk, on the sidelines of Test team’s training camp ahead of Bangladesh series, Sarfaraz also said he remains positive about his new role despite outside noise which does not bother him much.

“See, former cricketers and my ex-colleagues have their own opinions. I am very positive about making the most of this new opportunity,” Sarfaraz stressed.

“My team management, including Umar Gul, Asad Shafiq, Grant Luden and Abdul Saad, and I are very confident about coaching the team to success,” he added.

Pakistan Test team is currently training at the Hanif Mohammad High-Performance centre ahead of two-match Test series against Bangladesh which is also a part of ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.

The series will begin with the first Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka from 8 to 12 May.

The second Test is set to take place at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium from 16 to 20 May.

To a query about Babar Azam’s comeback in T20s, the former captain said Babar has bounced back and the important thing about him is his technique.

“It is good to see Babar scoring runs and that too with a technical comeback too. He is looking 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 Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 final last night in Karachi, will join the team after May 3.

Khurram Shehzad and Shan Masood will also join the squad after the commencement of PSL 11.

Currently, Pakistan are placed fifth in the ICC WTC rankings with 12 points. They have played just two matches in this cycle against South Africa at home 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:

Shan Masood (c), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.