I did mistake, sought apology from everyone: Sarfraz

KARACHI (92 News) – Pakistani skipper Sarfraz Ahmed batsman reiterated that he had admitted his mistake of using a racial slur and apologised to everyone who was hurt by his unintentional comments. Speaking at a press conference, Sarfraz Ahmed also dispelled the notion that efforts were afoot to remove him from captaincy. He expressed the hope that he would make come back, days after he was imposed four-match ban by the ICC for using racist comments against South African player Andile Phehlukwayo. To a question regarding his controversial remarks, Ahmed said the issue was blown out of proportion and things that he didn't mean to say were attributed to him. “When I went to Phehlukwayo he was upset that I had uttered something wrong about his mother. We told him about the importance of mother's prayers in Islam," he said adding that the South African player found his answer satisfactory and accepted his apology. “My kid received so much criticism on a petty matter,” the skpipper told journalists when asked how did she respond. My mother was unhappy over the reaction on the issue, he added. Sarfraz thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the way it handled the issue. He also expressed gratitude for the support he received from the nation. The wicket-keeper said those have known him are aware of his style of captaincy. He said he keeps talking from behind the stamps. He also rejected the impression that his performance was poor, saying that being a wicket keeper batsman his performance was not that bad. Sarfraz said had scored runs in series against Australia and caught a number of catches too. Sarfraz, however, admitted that his performance was far below expectations. Asked whether he would be retained as captain, he said the decision is taken by the PCB on a series to series basis. He said he has positive vibes and there were green signal too about the captaincy. He also rejected the impression that players were seen putting more efforts while playing under Shoaib Malik.