Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been appointed as the new head coach of the Pakistan Cricket Test Team. He will start his role with the upcoming two-test series vs Bangladesh on May 8th, which is Pakistan’s second test series in the World Test Championship Cycle. On being asked about his inexperience as a coach to becoming the head coach of the test team, Sarfaraz Ahmed said that everything is not about technical aspects; the main thing is building a relationship with teammates so that everyone has trust in each other.
“The technical aspects come later. What is important is that a coach has such a relationship with his players that they understand what he wants and at the same time they are comfortable and trust him enough to sit down with him and discuss anything,” said Sarfaraz Ahmed.
"I had a very good cricket career, and I want to repeat the success as a coach. I have gained some experience in coaching at the domestic level and at the cricket academy, but obviously, Test cricket is very different, and I am confident that with time, the exposure will help me a lot," he added.
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Sarfaraz Ahmed says external opinions don’t affect him, and neither do criticisms
Ever since Sarfaraz Ahmed was appointed as head coach, there has been a lot of criticism around questioning his ability to coach this Pakistan side without prior experience. But Sarfaraz Ahmed said that external opinions don’t affect him at all; his whole coaching team and players are in support of him, and that is what matters to him at this moment.
“See, former cricketers and my ex-colleagues have their own opinions. I am very positive about making the most of this new opportunity. “My team management, including Umar Gul, Asad Shafiq, Grant Luden and Abdul Saad, and I are very confident about coaching the team to success,” he said.
On asked about Babar Azam’s getting back to form in PSL, he replied, “The main thing is he is back to playing technically good cricket.”
Before this, Sarfaraz Ahmed was the manager of the Pakistan under-19 and Shaheens (Pakistan A) squad. Pakistan is currently placed at the fifth spot in the World Test Championship table after playing only two games in this cycle against South Africa in October 2025. With Sarfaraz Ahmed and captain Shan Masood, they will be hoping for a better season in 2026.
