Sarfraz vows to make come back after SA controversy

KARACHI: Pakistan embattled skipper Sarfraz Ahmed on Sunday  expressed the hope that he would make  come back, days after he was imposed four-match ban by the ICC for using racist comments   against South African player  Andile Phehlukwayo.

Speaking at a press conference, he  also dispelled the notion that efforts were afoot to  remove him from captaincy.

Answering a question regarding his controversial remarks, Ahmed said the issue was blown out of proportion and things that he didn't  mean to say were attributed to him.

"When I went to Phehlukwayo  he was upset  that I had uttered  something wrong about his mother.  

"We told him about  the importance of mother's prayers  in Islam," he said adding that the South African player found his answer satisfactory and accepted his apology.

"My kid received so much criticism on a petty matter," the skpipper told journalists when asked how did she respond. My mother was unhappy over the reaction on the issue, he added.

Sarfraz Ahmed thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board for the  way it handled the issue. He also expressed gratitude for the support he received from the nation.

The wicket-keeper said those have   known him are aware of his style of captaincy. He said he keeps talking from behind the stamps .

He also rejected the impression  that his performance was poor, saying that being a wicket keeper batsman his performance was not that bad. 

He said  had  scored runs in  series against Australia and caught a number of catches  too. Sarfraz, however, admitted that his performance was  far below   expectations. 

Asked whether he would be retained as captain, he said the decision is taken by the PCB on a series to series basis. 

He said he has positive vibes and  there were green signal  too about he captaincy.

He also rejected the impression that players were seen putting  more efforts while  playing under Shoaib Malik.