"Sarfaraz has given a lot of performances for Pakistan" - Mohammad Hafeez backs Sarfaraz Ahmed after twin failures against Australia in Perth Test

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has come out supporting wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed following his twin failures as Australia registered a thumping 360-run win over the visitors in the Perth Test.

The National Team Director said that including senior players doesn’t necessarily mean that the team are entirely dependent on their performances.

Hafeez pointed out that Sarfaraz delivered with the bat during the home series against New Zealand and has experience playing in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries, which will be useful during the remaining two Tests.

The reaction comes as Sarfaraz returned with scores of three and four during his two innings. Another former Pakistan captain Babar Azam also managed below-par scores of 21 and 14. Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi managed to pick up just two wickets.

Hafeez said in the post-match press conference:

"[Inclusion of] senior players doesn't mean that only they have to perform [...] Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam are not the only ones responsible for good performance.

"Sarfaraz has given a lot of performances for Pakistan. In the New Zealand series, he was excellent. Yes, five to six months have passed but you give first priority to your best performers from the recent series. Unfortunately, this match didn't go well for Sarfaraz according to our expectations."

He added:

“However, we can't start thinking something totally different after one match. Sarfaraz isn't new [to these conditions as] he has toured Australia, South Africa and England before. He's not new to these conditions and we can say that he'll struggle to adjust.

"Yes, he didn't perform up to expectations as a batsman and keeper. But this doesn't mean that we should start doubting someone's skill and saying they can only play in certain conditions."

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“As a team, we made a couple of tactical errors” – Mohammad Hafeez sums up Pakistan’s loss to Australia in 1st Test

Mohammad Hafeez further believes that Shan Masood-led Pakistan made a few tactical errors, which helped Australia dominate throughout the opening Test.

He said:

"We couldn't execute our skills. We made the plans for the team but unfortunately, as a team, we couldn't execute our plans. The guys wanted to, but they never applied themselves, to be honest.

"As a team, we made a couple of tactical errors. There were certain situations where we could have dominated. We were prepared but our execution wasn't great.”

For the unversed, the visitors were bundled out for 271 and 89 in their two innings. They will next be in action in the second Test in Melbourne from December 26, touted as the Boxing Day Test match.

Click here to check out the full AUS vs PAK 1st Test live score and updates here.