Trolled after Asia Cup disaster, Pak captain Sarfaraz says he hasn't slept in six days

Sarfaraz Ahmed admits his batting was below standard but insists there is no need yet to press the panic button.

IANS Photo

The humiliation from a string of defeats in the Asia Cup that saw his team eventually crash out of the tournament may have taken a huge toll on Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. Trolled by fans for his performance with the bat, his captaincy and his team's performance, Sarfaraz recently revealed he has not slept in six days.

Pakistan's performance in the Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates has left fans and cricket experts lament on the quality of the national side. The team defeated minnows Hong Kong before losing twice to arch-rivals India and barely defeating Afghanistan. A loss in the Super Fours against Bangladesh eventually saw the team's early ouster. While almost every player has come in for criticism, a bulk of it has been directed at Sarfaraz with calls for him to step down as skipper growing louder by the day. "Look, the pressures of captaincy are always there. Pakistani captains, whoever they are, always have pressure. Obviously when you aren't performing and the team is losing then there is more pressure. The truth is that if I say I haven't slept for the last six nights nobody will believe me, but... this is part of life and it will go on," he was quoted as saying by a news agency.

Time for Sarfaraz to relinquish the captaincy! — Excalibur (@MCMLXIV) September 26, 2018

Please kik off Sarfaraz Ahmed from Pakistan Cricket Team — Manzar Ali (@ManzarA18430585) September 27, 2018

If he can't bat at this position then why he is coming. Sarfaraz needs rest and send him for the rest. — Zahid Noor Afridi (@zahidnoorafridi) September 26, 2018

Played 95 matches. 8 fifty’s & 2 Hundreds only..
Leading the team.. that’s amazing — Habib@47 (@Habib4711) September 26, 2018

After his team's second successive defeat against India, Sarfaraz had predicted his team will recover in time for the final. The final though had no place for Pakistan after Bangladesh delivered the knockout punch to set-up a summit clash against India. Safaraz himself could do nothing to change his team's fortunes and had scores of 10, 44, 8 and 6 in the entire tournament. And he admits that he should have set an example with the bat that other players in the side could emulate. "My performance isn't good so the team lost. The team lost because of me. I should've performed as a captain but I didn't and we lost because of that," he said.

The Asia Cup has already cost one veteran his captaincy. Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews was asked to step down after his side failed to make it to the Super Fours. And although the axe possibly looms over Sarfaraz's head as well, he feels there is no need to panic and remains confident of fortunes doing a complete reversal.