Sarfraz Ahmed Joins Dolphins As Mentor-cum-player In Champions One Day Cup 2024
Zeeshan Mehtab Published September 04, 2024 | 08:35 PM
Wicket-keeper batsman, former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed on Wednesday joined Dolphins side as mentor-cum-player for the Champions One Day Cup 2024 and expressed the resolve to make a meaningful contribution towards player development and professional growth of the cricketers and coaching staff
LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Sep, 2024) Wicket-keeper batsman, former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed on Wednesday joined Dolphins side as mentor-cum-player for the Champions One Day Cup 2024 and expressed the resolve to make a meaningful contribution towards player development and professional growth of the cricketers and coaching staff.
Addressing a press conference to accept mentorship and unveiling of Dolphins logo at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters Gaddafi Stadium here on Wednesday, he said he would play his due role in mentoring players for the future and help in bridging the gap between domestic and international cricket.
With Sarfraz’s joining Dolphins as mentor, the process of appointing mentors of the five teams has completed as Waqar Younis (Lions), Shoaib Malik (Stallions), Misbah ul Haq (Wolves) and Saqlain Mushtaq (Panthers) have already joined the sides in the Champions One Day Cup which due to start on September 12 at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.
Dolphins will be based at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre in Karachi, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced today. Dolphins will be one of the five sides to participate in the Champions One-Day Cup, which will be held in Faisalabad from 12-29 September.
“What makes this role even more exciting and challenging is that I will also be participating in the tournament as a player. While my passion and drive to win each match remain as strong as ever, my role will also involve supporting and assisting the captain, players, and coaching staff to enhance their skills and become better players,†Sarfraz added.
Reminiscing on his old memories with an old team with the surname Dolphins but no geographical affiliations with the current side, the two time ICC events winner said, “I am fully committed to this role and am eager to make a meaningful contribution to the Dolphins side, with whom I have been involved in some of the most memorable matches. These include the last-over loss to the Stallions in the 2007/08 T20 Cup final, a 78-run victory over the Bears in the 2009/10 Pentangular One-Day Cup final and a 37-run loss to the Lions in the 2010/11 T20 Cup final.
â€
He said mentoring a highly-rated Dolphins side in what promises to be a keenly contested and hard-fought tournament is something he is eagerly looking forward to, adding that it will be a new experience for him and he is excited about the opportunity to learn and further develop his skills as a cricket professional.
“With the country’s best players and top-notch coaches under the watchful eyes of experienced former stalwarts as mentors, I am confident that this Champions One-Day Cup will exceed the expectations of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the passionate Pakistan cricket fans, whose unwavering support is always crucial. I believe all players will deliver their best performances, making this tournament an overwhelming success,†the former captain hoped.
The Champions One-Day Cup will feature country’s 150 best of the best cricketers. This will be a 50-over tournament that will be played on a single-league format. All but 16 September match between Lions and Panthers, which will start at 9.30am, will commence at 3pm. There will be three playoffs in four days with the final on Sunday, 29 September.
Sarfaraz Ahmed captained Pakistan to victories in the ICC U19 World Cup 2006 and ICC Champions Trophy 2017 while he was also a member of the Pakistan side that won the ACC Asia Cup 2012. Sarfraz led Pakistan to No.1 in ICC T20I Team Rankings and also became the first Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter to score a World Cup century when he scored 101 not out against Ireland in Adelaide in 2015. He holds the record for most dismissals in an ODI (all 6 catches) and is only the second wicket-keeper to have captained his side in 50 or more ODIs. Sarfraz Ahmed is 17th on the ODI list of wicket-keepers with 2,000 runs and 100 dismissals while he has played in two 50-over World Cups and one T20 World Cup.
