Sarfaraz Ahmed joins Dolphins as mentor for Champions One-Day Cup

LAHORE: Former captain and wicket-keeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed joined the Dolphins as a mentor-cum-player for the Champions One-Day Cup 2024.

He expressed his commitment to contributing significantly to player development and the professional growth of both cricketers and coaching staff.

During a press conference at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters at Gaddafi Stadium, where the Dolphins’ new logo was unveiled, Sarfaraz Ahmed announced his new role. He stated that he aims to mentor players for the future and help bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket.

With Sarfaraz’s appointment, the process of selecting mentors for the five teams in the Champions One Day Cup is complete. Other mentors include Waqar Younis (Lions), Shoaib Malik (Stallions), Misbah-ul-Haq (Wolves), and Saqlain Mushtaq (Panthers). The tournament is set to begin on September 12 at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

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The Dolphins will be based at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre in Karachi. The Champions One Day Cup, featuring the top 150 cricketers in the country, will be a 50-over tournament played in a single-league format. Except for the match between the Lions and Panthers on September 16, which will start at 9:30 am, all other matches will begin at 3:00pm. The tournament will include three playoff games over four days, culminating in the final on Sunday, September 29.

Sarfaraz Ahmed, who captained Pakistan to victories in the ICC U19 World Cup 2006 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, has also been part of Pakistan’s wins in the ACC Asia Cup 2012. He led Pakistan to the No.1 spot in the ICC T20I Team Rankings and was the first Pakistani wicket-keeper-batter to score a World Cup century with an unbeaten 101 against Ireland in Adelaide in 2015.

Sarfaraz holds the record for the most dismissals in an ODI (all 6 catches) and is only the second wicket-keeper to captain his side in 50 or more ODIs. He ranks 17th among ODI wicket-keepers with 2,000 runs and 100 dismissals and has played in two 50-over World Cups and one T20 World Cup.