Pakistan capable of winning U19 World Cup, says Sarfraz

KARACHI: Almost 14 years ago, Sarfraz Ahmed captained Pakistan to a title-winning triumph in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup.

On Monday at Lahore’s National Cricket Academy, Sarfraz gave the country’s top under-19 players valuable tips as they entered in the final leg of preparations for the upcoming Under-19 World Cup in South Africa,

Sarfraz made a visit to the ongoing Pakistan U19 camp at the NCA and shared his experience of playing the biggest age-group cricket tournament.

Pakistan boast two U19 World Cup wins – the last one came under the wicketkeeper-batsman’s captaincy in 2006 with a memorable win over arch-rivals India by 38 runs in a low-scoring final in Colombo.

After leading his country to the title, Sarfaraz made his debut for Pakistan national men’s team the next year in an ODI against India at Jaipur. He believes the upcoming U19 Cricket World Cup, which will be played in from January 17 to February 9, will serve as a stepping stone for the teenaged cricketers in the squad.

“I have told the boys this is a perfect platform to graduate to the next level as we had also gone through this route,” he said. “Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi are prime examples, they came from this set-up and are now a part of the national team.

“I have a feeling that this team has the capability to beat any team in the competition and has the fire power to win the tournament. The momentum is on their side. They’ve had a good 2019 as they performed very well in South Africa and other recent series.

“I have great memories of my time in the U19 side. The best one is the final which we won in the 2006 World Cup. The way we won it, I am going to remember it for the rest of my life. We had a brilliant time and we played like one.”

Pakistan start their U19 World Cup campaign on January 19 against Scotland U19. The Rohail Nazir-led side is in Group C with Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Scotland. Pakistan squad: Rohail Nazir (captain and wicketkeeper), Abbas Afridi (Peshawar), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Quetta), Amir Ali (Larkana), Amir Khan (Peshawar), Arish Ali Khan (Karachi), Fahad Munir (Lahore), Haider Ali (vice-captain), Qasim Akram (Lahore), Mohammad Haris (Peshawar), Mohammad Huraira (Sialkot), Mohammad Irfan Khan (Lahore), Mohammad Shehzad (Multan), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (North Waziristan), Tahir Hussain (Multan).