Mickey Arthur confirms contact with Sarfaraz Ahmed ahead of World Cup

Mickey Arthur, the current team director of the Pakistan cricket team, has confirmed that he has been in contact with the former captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, after rejoining the Men in Green. Arthur and Sarfaraz have a long-standing relationship, which is why the team director reached out to him.

In a recent interview with local media channel, Arthur stated that he has spoken to Sarfaraz, but they have not discussed the 50-over World Cup yet, as there are still many players in the shake-up for the tournament.

“Look Sarfraz and I have a great relationship. I've touched base with him but as you know, there are so many people in the shake-up for the 50-over World Cup. So we haven't spoken about that explicitly at the time, but I have caught up with Sarfaraz because him and I go back a long way. We've got a really good relationship,” Arthur said.

Sarfaraz, who was the captain of the Pakistan cricket team until October 2019, was removed from his position after a string of poor performances.

In a press conference earlier this month in Karachi, Sarfaraz was asked whether he wished to play the World Cup or not - to which he responded rather neutrally.

"Do you wish to play World Cup this year?" the reporter asked.

"As far as I am playing, there is always a wish to play; I want to play cricket," Sarfaraz replied.

Arthur also praised the current captain, Babar Azam, and expressed his satisfaction with his leadership. According to Arthur, Babar is doing a wonderful job and has started to make the position his own.

“I met Babar when I was in Pakistan. I think he's doing a wonderful job and I think he has started to make that position his own. I actually think he's getting better. His batting is again going from strength to strength so I think Babar is doing a really good job at the minute,” Arthur said.