Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has denied reports of a rift with coach Mickey Arthur after the latter revealed the skipper had gone against his advice and decided not to bowl Mohammad Abbas first-up on the fifth and final day of the Dubai Test.

Abbas, who had taken seven wickets in the match by then when every other seamer struggled, was not bowled until the second hour of the morning session and that allowed eventual centurion Usman Khawaja and Travis Head to settle in.

Coach Arthur said Sarfraz changed his mind after talking to senior members of the team and by the time Abbas came into the attack, the Australian batsmen were well set and ultimately held on for a famous draw.

On the eve of the second and final Test in Abu Dhabi, Sarfraz said there were no issues between him and the coach and said the focus was firmly on the match.

“There is lot been said about it (Abbas bowling decision) in the media in the last three days. Whatever the case, there are no such differences between me and him,” the wicket-keeper batsman said on Monday.

“If I say something here it will be blown out of proportion. We are now focusing on this match and what happened is a thing of the past, something to do with team decision. It was not an individual decision and I would like to put an end to it here.”

However, the fact is that Sarfraz is under pressure to deliver. Pakistan lost the two-match series at home to Sri Lanka last year 2-0 and before that lost the final match of the series against the West Indies in Sharjah. That means Pakistan have gone four matches without a win in the UAE. However, the skipper said he remains confident about the team and himself.

“There is no pressure after the draw. Not as a team or as a captain. We have played well and were unfortunate that the wicket didn’t fall and we didn’t win the Test. Yes, as far as my batting goes I’m concentrating hard in the nets on my batting. I will try to play a big innings whenever I get an opportunity.

“Against Sri Lanka we didn’t bat big (when Pakistan lost by 21 and 68 runs). However, against Australia we had good momentum and had we got one or two wickets in the middle, we probably would have won.

“As a team and as a captain I’m very confident for this match. As a team I’m happy with the way they responded in the first Test match. For four-and-a-half days everything was going fine but unfortunately we couldn’t win the match. Credit goes to the Australian team they fought really hard but the way we fought in the first Test I’m proud of the team.”

ZAMAN TO PLAY

Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman.

Pakistan have included attacking opener Fakhar Zaman in the playing 12 after the finger injury to Imam-ul-Haq in the Dubai Test. Fakhar had a horror Asia Cup and given the lack of confidence in his game, was not picked in the opening match against the Aussies.

But with in-form Imam injured, the left-handed Fakhar is set to open in the capital.

“One of the reasons is to get someone who can play aggressively and score at a brisk pace. You need someone like that (Zaman) in a team. Teams around the world do that.

“We hope that the batsmen target to play for at least three hours once they get set.”