Central contract ‘demotion’ doesn’t bother me: Sarfaraz Ahmed

Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed is not bothered by getting demoted in the central contract list from Category A to B, as he aims to make a comeback into the national side.

While speaking in a podcast by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Sarfaraz said he is grateful for being awarded the contract because it comprises of the best talent available in the country.

"To maintain anything, you need to work very hard. Category A, B or C doesn’t matter to me, as my main target is to make a place for myself whenever I make a comeback into the national side," said Sarfaraz.

"Ups and downs are part of a cricketing career. I am grateful to be in the B category because all our top cricketers are in it," he added.

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The 32-year-old was pleased to see the progress of Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took the most Test wickets for Pakistan in the 2019-20 season.

"I am happy that Shaheen has been promoted to category A as he performed really well in the 2019 World Cup and Test cricket as well," he said.

Last week, while announcing the contracts, Pakistan chief selector-cum-head coach, Misbahul Haq, confirmed that Sarfaraz was still part of the national team’s future plan.

"Sarfaraz has been placed in Category B as he very much features in our future plans. We have some tough cricket lined up over the next 12 months where we will potentially require Sarfaraz’s knowledge and experience," said Misbah.

Furthermore, and as part of its commitment and strategy to reward high-performing young cricketers, the PCB has created a new Emerging Players’ Category, and the initial inductees are Haider Ali and fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain.

Haider, who was a standout batsman for the Pakistan Emerging and U19 sides, said he was missing tape-ball cricket during Ramazan and named his dream batting partner for it.

"Since only spinners are allowed in tape-ball cricket, I would like Younis Khan and Inzamamul Haq as my batting partners as they played spin really well," said Haider.