As former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed turned 36 on Monday, the cricket fraternity rallied to shower their heartfelt wishes on one of the most successful captains of the national cricket team.
Safaraz captained Pakistan in 100 matches across all formats between 2017 and 2019, winning a record 11 series on the trot during the period.
However, the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy triumph, where he led the then 8th-ranked team to victory, tops the list of his achievements as Pakistan skipper.
🏆 2017 Champions Trophy winning captain
🏆 2006 U19 World Cup winning captain
💯 Only 🇵🇰 wicketkeeper-batter to score a 💯 in a @cricketworldcup match
🧢 229 international matches
🏏 6,125 runs across all formats
🧤 305 catches & 56 stumpingsHappy birthday @SarfarazA_54! 🎂 pic.twitter.com/uw0tgfCqPF
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 22, 2023
On his special day, several fellow cricketers took to social media, including Pakistan’s current captain Babar Azam and vice-captain Shadab Khan, and sent birthday wishes to the veteran wicket-keeper batter.
“Happy Birthday @sarfaraz54,” wrote Babar on his Instagram story while sharing a photo with Safaraz from Pakistan’s home Test series against New Zealand held earlier this year in Karachi.
Shadab Khan, on the other hand, took to Twitter and wrote, “There are some people in ur life who inspire u, who teach u, who guide u. @SarfarazA_54bhai is one of them for me. He is a mentor to so many of us. A very happy birthday to u. May u get the best in everything.”
There are some people in ur life who inspire u, who teach u, who guide u. @SarfarazA_54 bhai is one of them for me. He is a mentor to so many of us. A very happy birthday to u. May u get the best in everything. pic.twitter.com/0WzTmkKZAq
— Shadab Khan (@76Shadabkhan) May 22, 2023
Sarfaraz’s teammate at Quetta Gladiators Mohammad Nawaz also spoke highly of the ex-Pakistan captain and thanked him for the role he has played in the left-arm spinner’s career.
“Happy Birthday @SarfarazA_54 Bhai, Shukriya Kaptaan for being there for me from my PSL debut to my Pakistan debut. May you have many more,” he tweeted.
Happy Birthday @SarfarazA_54 Bhai, Shukriya Kaptaan for being there for me from my PSL debut to my Pakistan debut. May you have many more 🥳#IamGAME #SarfarazAhmed #Cricket #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/kzKJCPAolz
— Muhammad Nawaz (@mnawaz94) May 22, 2023
Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi Imam-ul-Haq, Usman Qadir, former wicket-keeper Rashid Latif and a few other retired and serving Pakistan cricketers also extended their best wishes for Sarfaraz.
Happy birthday 🎂 @SarfarazA_54 bhai pic.twitter.com/5kbAcOdtHz
— Shaheen Shah Afridi (@iShaheenAfridi) May 22, 2023
Wishing you a very Happiest Birthday Mere Kaptan @SarfarazA_54 🎂💐🎂 pic.twitter.com/HFDayXHxut
— Hassan Ali 🇵🇰 (@RealHa55an) May 22, 2023
Happy birthday Kaptaaan! ❤️
Allah pak apko hamesha khush rakhain. Have a great day and an amazing year ahead IA.
Love you @SarfarazA_54 🤗🎂 pic.twitter.com/dbeTSQnjmo— Imam Ul Haq (@ImamUlHaq12) May 22, 2023
Happy Birthday @SarfarazA_54 Kaptaan pic.twitter.com/NukCpnwulV
— Rashid Latif | 🇵🇰 (@iRashidLatif68) May 22, 2023
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