Pakistan skipper's subtle dig at booing Indian fans
Pakistan’s World Cup captain has risked the wrath of India after taking a sly shot at fans for booing Australia’s players.
Sarfraz Ahmed says he won't need to follow Virat Kohli's lead and step in to defend Steve Smith from jeering fans in their World Cup clash with Australia.
Kohli created headlines on Sunday when he told Indian fans to stop booing Smith and instead cheer him, apologising to the former Australian captain for their behaviour.
Smith and fellow returnee David Warner have been booed in all of their World Cup games so far, ahead of a long English summer that will also include a brutal Ashes campaign.
But Sarfraz said he didn't expect Pakistan fans to create the same issues for the pair on return from their 12-month bans following the ball-tampering saga.
"I don't think Pakistani people are doing like that," Sarfraz said.
"Pakistan people love cricket and they love support and they love the players."
Warner has made slow going of his return, ranked in the top six on the run-scoring charts for the World Cup but going at a rate 25 per cent slower than before his ban.
It comes after he blitzed the Indian Premier League, scoring 692 runs in his 12 games at a strike rate of 143.96.
But Australia's captain Aaron Finch said it was unrealistic to expect him to carry that scoring rate into his international return and revealed Warner's been working closely with coach Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting to improve his game.
"You're not playing a club team, where you can find one target and target them really hard," Finch said.
"It's slightly different obviously, and totally different wickets.
"You have to remember that Indian wickets are quite low and quite skiddy with the new ball, which allowed him to use his hands and stand really still and hit the gaps.
"Whereas (in England), there's been just enough in these wickets first up that it doesn't allow you to just walk out and hit through the line and blast attacks all over.
"Every evidence suggests he'll be back to his dangerous best ... I know he's been working a bit with J.L. and Punter to just make sure he's in the right mind frame."
With AAP