Cricket history in Pakistan offers a familiar pattern, moments of brilliance interrupted by sudden decisions, personal whims, and administrative impatience. Even the great Imran Khan went through prolonged dips in form, yet Pakistan persisted with him because leadership was valued over short-term statistics. That patience paid the richest dividend when Imran lifted the World Cup in 1992.
After Imran, the responsibility of guiding Pakistan through transition fell on Javed Miandad, a cricketer with the intelligence to build a team for the future generation of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. But Pakistan cricket rarely follows a straight line. Vision is often sacrificed for impulse, and Miandad’s captaincy was cut short at a time when stability was needed most. What followed was a long period of chopping and changing captains, a cycle that repeatedly turned Pakistan into a laughing stock despite possessing immense talent.
Years later, Misbah-ul-Haq temporarily ended that chaos. His calm leadership restored discipline and dignity to the side. But the moment Misbah stepped aside, the old habits returned. Pakistan once again chose uncertainty over continuity, and the man who eventually had to digest the bitterness of this culture was Sarfaraz Ahmed.
The Captain Who Rebuilt Without Support
When Sarfaraz took charge after Misbah, Pakistan were entering a difficult phase. The retirements of Misbah and Younis Khan had left a leadership vacuum, while the limited-overs side was also moving beyond the era of Shahid Afridi. It was clearly a rebuilding period, one that required time, trust, and patience.
Sarfaraz did what few Pakistani captains manage to do, he rebuilt while winning.
Under his leadership, Pakistan lifted the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, defeating India in London in one of the most memorable finals in the country’s cricketing history. After Imran Khan, Sarfaraz became only the second Pakistani captain to win a major 50-over ICC title.
His achievements were not limited to one tournament.
He had already led Pakistan to victory in the Under-19 World Cup 2006.
Pakistan won 11 consecutive T20I series under his captaincy.
The team remained competitive in Tests and ODIs despite the transition.
For a time, the streets of Karachi told the real story. When Sarfaraz returned home with the Champions Trophy, thousands gathered outside his modest house in Buffer Zone. He was not a political leader, yet the crowd celebrated him like one. That moment captured something rare: a captain who belonged to the people.
The PCB’s Old Habit: Remove the Leader, Keep the Confusion
Yet Pakistan Cricket Board has rarely been comfortable with stability. Sarfaraz was removed not because he failed as a captain, but because his batting form dipped. In Pakistan, this has always been a familiar mistake - judging captains only by personal statistics while ignoring the value of leadership.
The irony is that Pakistan had shown patience with Misbah during his difficult phases, but Sarfaraz was not given the same trust. The decision reflected the same old problem: no long-term vision, only short-term reactions.
Even earlier, in limited-overs cricket, Pakistan had made a similar error by removing Shahid Afridi from captaincy despite respectable results. The board’s petty politics achieved nothing except instability.
Sarfaraz’s removal followed the same script. He was reportedly told during a domestic event that it would be better if he resigned himself. When he refused to step down voluntarily, the announcement of his dismissal was issued the same evening.
For Pakistan cricket, that day marked the beginning of another cycle of confusion, one from which the team has still not fully recovered.
The Era of Media Hype and Manufactured Heroes
If PCB’s impatience was one problem, the other was the culture created by Pakistani media. Over the last decade, the media built exaggerated hype around every new star, presenting individuals as saviours before they had proved themselves as leaders.
Babar Azam was promoted as the face of a new golden era, yet his captaincy never delivered the authority Pakistan once had.
Mohammad Rizwan worked hard but never looked like a natural leader.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was handed responsibility before his personality had matured for it.
At times, even decisions like appointing Azhar Ali as captain raised questions about whether cricketing intelligence was being valued at all.
The result was predictable; Pakistan kept changing captains, but never found one who could command the dressing room the way Sarfaraz did.
Had Sarfaraz continued from 2017 onward with proper backing, Pakistan might have entered the 2020s with a settled side instead of a permanently unsettled one.
A Natural Leader in an Unnatural System
Sarfaraz’s greatest strength was also his greatest weakness; he always put the team first.
He pushed himself down the batting order to balance the side.
He defended young players when they failed.
He accepted criticism without complaint.
Players who debuted during his era Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali and others, often speak about how comfortable the dressing room felt under him. He was strict on the field, but warm off it. He could scold a player in the middle of a match and later take the same player out for dinner. That combination of authority and affection is rare, and Pakistan has not seen much of it since.
Unlike many modern stars, Sarfaraz never detached himself from grassroots cricket. He continued to play domestic matches, club games, even tape-ball cricket when invited. Fame never changed his lifestyle. While others moved to elite neighborhoods, he remained the same boy from Buffer Zone.
In a country where success often brings arrogance, Sarfaraz remained ordinary and perhaps that is why the system never fully valued him.
The Lesson Pakistan Still Refuses to Learn
Pakistan cricket’s history shows a clear truth:
Whenever the country trusts a captain, it rises.
Whenever it follows hype, politics, and impatience, it falls.
It happened after Miandad.
It happened after Misbah.
And it happened again after Sarfaraz.
Sarfaraz Ahmed may not have been the most stylish batsman of his generation, but he was one of the most natural leaders Pakistan produced after Imran Khan. Removing him without a long-term plan did not create a stronger team, it only created another decade of instability.
Every cricketer must retire one day, but the legacy of a captain is measured not by his average, but by what happens after he leaves.
In Pakistan’s case, the years after Sarfaraz have been the clearest proof of his value.
And that is why, when the best captains of Pakistan are discussed, his name will always stand there,
not as a product of hype, but as a victim of it.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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