Former captain Wasim Akram on Tuesday slammed Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to call back Sarfaraz Ahmed from South Africa after he was handed a four-match ban for breaching the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Racism Code.

Akram observed that Ahmed should have avoided making the comments that he did in the third One-day International in Durban.“It was a wrong decision to call him back from South Africa when he could have played in the final T20 on February 6,” Akram was quoted as saying by PTI. “What Sarfaraz did was wrong but it is also a fact that more than anyone else, Pakistanis around the world hyped up his comments and created an issue,” he added.


The pace ace, who is also on the PCB’s cricket committee, insisted that Ahmed should remain Pakistan captain. “There is no need to change the captain before the World Cup,” the former Pakistan captain said. “We need a long term captain not a short term one. Shoaib Malik is leading the team now and is doing a fine job but even he has said he will retire from ODis after the World Cup.”

Akram backed the 31-year-old to make a strong comeback: “He [Sarfaraz] is still learning and will get better as he matures and gains more experience. It would be wrong to remove him as captain.”

During the third ODI, Ahmed was caught on taunting South Africa all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo on the stump microphone after the latter played a risky shot: “Abay kaalay, teri ammi aaj kahan baitheen hain? Kya parhwa ke aya hai aaj tu” [Hey black [man], where is your mother sitting? What prayer did you get her to say for you today?].

The PCB has expressed its disappointment with the ICC to ban Ahmed for four matches, noting that he had apologised immediately. Ahmed also met the South African team and Phehlukwayo to express his regret at the incident.