Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed said on Friday that his side are still smarting from their loss to Bangladesh in the opening Test in Dhaka, but he believes the team can regroup for the second match. Bangladesh secured a 104-run win to move 1-0 ahead in the series, which forms part of the ICC World Test Championship. Sarfaraz added that Pakistan’s mindset is fixed on turning things around, with the squad receiving a boost from the return of Babar Azam, who missed the first Test because of injury.
Speaking to reporters in Sylhet ahead of the second Test, Sarfaraz acknowledged the disappointment of the opening defeat. “Definitely, as a team we are disappointed after the first Test,” he said, adding that the focus now is on what comes next rather than dwelling on the past. “So, we are hopeful for the next match. Insha’Allah, we will bounce back as a team,” the coach added.
Sarfaraz confirmed that Babar will be available for the upcoming Test. “Yes, Babar Azam is available for the next match,” he said. He then stressed that attention has shifted entirely away from the previous result. “What happened in the past has happened. We are not talking about the previous match. We are focused on our next match and we will bounce back,” he remarked.
The coach also addressed the criticism that has been directed at Pakistan’s senior players on social media following the Bangladesh defeat. He noted that public scrutiny is nothing new, especially given the reaction that followed the loss back home, where former cricketers and fans questioned the performances of several established names, along with captain Shan Masood.
“You talk about the criticism of our senior players—it is not new for us,” Sarfaraz said. He pointed out that if the team is not putting up strong cricket, criticism inevitably follows. “Definitely, we all know if we are not playing good cricket, the criticism is there. So, we are not worrying about social media things. Our focus is to play the next match. Hopefully, my captain and all the team will play good cricket in the next matches,” he said.
Sarfaraz further underlined discipline as an area Pakistan must improve. “We need to be more disciplined. If you talk about playing Test matches, we need to be disciplined with bowling length and batting more patiently,” he explained.
He added that the team reviewed their shortcomings after arriving in the host venue. “We sat down and discussed all these points as a team after we arrived here,” he said, referencing Pakistan’s collapse during two sessions even though they had been aware that they needed to either draw or win the match.
Concluding his remarks, Sarfaraz expressed hope that the senior members will step up when it matters most. “I am hopeful that the senior players will take responsibility, and Insha’Allah, when such a position arises again, they will pull the team out of it,” he said.
