‘Do I really look that bad?’

Indeed, as this reporter tried locating the man, every person who was asked for a lead warned me off. ‘‘Don’t talk to him, he’s a loose cannon’. That was one of the milder, printable things said about him.

When the interview finally took place, and Sarfaraz was told about the ‘warnings’, the man had a hearty laugh. Then asked, ‘‘Do I really look that bad?’’

In a more serious vein, he sought to explain why the public impression of him persists. ‘‘The problem is, I speak the truth and these people, you know, they are opportunists, they don’t like me because I am fearless.’’

Another way of putting it is ‘‘big-mouthed’’. A one-time Federal Sports Advisor to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, he has a running feud with his old new-ball partner Imran Khan. And another with Sunil Gavasakar, whom he accused of being the kingpin of match-fixing on live television.

Four years after the dirt in world cricket has seemingly settled down, Sarfaraz is still breathing fire on the state of the game. ‘‘There are still many black sheep. But I do not think anything will ever happen and the system will remain rotten forever.’’

For a brief while Sarfaraz came aboard the establishment and even coached the current Pakistani quick bowlers from 1999-2001. Indeed, as he watches them in action, he has a look of pride. ‘‘All of them, Sami, Razzaq…I have trained them,’’ he says.

The conversation reverts to Sarfaraz’s pet topic. He spews venom at the current Pakistani establishment and relates stories that cannot be printed for obvious reasons. On his part Sarfaraz says if he is approached by the ICC, he can give them a plan to check match-fixing. ‘‘Form a high-powered committee and ask them to monitor one player per match. If they find any player performing under par they should immediately do an enquiry.’’

Wouldn’t that put pressure on all players? ‘‘No, I don’t think so. You know who says such a thing, people who are corrupt.’’

‘WHY HAVEN’T YOU BROUGHT MUNAF?’

Sarfaraz on Indian bowling

There is no attack here. With the three stars injured, the bowling looks very weak. Make no mistake, during the Tests if the Indians do not get replacements, they will suffer immensely. Zaheer, Nehra both look unfit and Balaji is at best a support bowler. Are there no bowlers in India? I heard about Munaf Patel, why isn’t he here. Is he really as fast as Shoaib, they should have brought him at least.

Zaheer Khan: There is a problem in his final jump. He jumps too high and especially in his last two or three strides he is too open. My advice to him is to go a little forward and try getting his bowling arm a little higher. Another problem I noticed with Zaheer was that he jumps and stops. This eats up all the momentum and slows him down

Lakshmipathy Balaji: He is a medium-pacer and should concentrate only on line and length. He should use more of the crease to be effective. He should realise that he is only a support bowler. I have seen him lately and find that there is a problem in his release: in the final release he does not push the bowl through and thereby loses out on bowling a bit more faster

Ashish Nehra: I have just one observation: He needs to be more upright while bowling. When I see him I get a feeling that he holds his stomach in and is in a crouched position. Come on, you are in an international game, put your chest out and bowl with fire. Again with him too the final release is a problem. He needs to develop a stronger body. And if he wants to do that he needs to bowl at least two to three hours everyday. This is the only way he can develop his bowling muscles