Scotland a team we won’t be taking lightly: Sarfraz Ahmed

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed is heavily impressed with the way Scotland played against England on Sunday — the minnows managed to beat the top-ranked ODI side by six runs in a gripping encounter — and has warned his side to not take the opponents lightly.

Scotland surprised all by posting a mammoth total of 371 runs courtesy a 140-run blitz by Calum MacLeod which England were unable to reach, succumbing to 365 all out.

And Sarfraz, who like all in the cricketing world, was enthralled by the way the Scots took the game to England.

“Congrats to Scotland for the way they played against England. Yesterday [Sunday] was Scotland’s day. They played really well; the way they batted, the way they bowled and the way they fielded. It was just amazing,” he said.

Talking about the uncertainty in T20 cricket and how a game can turn on its head in a matter of seconds, Sarfraz said: “We are not taking this game lightly; we know the T20 format is not easy. On one day you are performing really well and on the other you are not able to deliver. Did you see the match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh; that’s a prime example of what T20 cricket can do. T20 cricket is not easy and you have to play well. It doesn’t matter whether you are a number one side or a number eight side, you have to be wary.”

Sarfraz also said that playing against the top sides in the world is not only a great thing for Scotland cricket but for cricket as a whole.

“It is great to see Scotland play cricket with the top sides in the world — first England and now us. Cricket, as a sport, is the biggest winner from this arrangement,” he said.

When asked about whether the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to reduce the number of teams in the World Cup is right for teams like Scotland, Sarfraz said: “I cannot comment here on ICC’s policies because it is they who decide, but even in a 10-team World Cup, the teams have nine matches to play against each other and that gives them a lot of opportunities to make amends if things go awry.”