Akhtar Sarfraz

Akhtar Sarfraz (20 February 1976 – 10 June 2019) was a Pakistani cricketer, coach and selector. Sarfraz was a left-handed batsman who also bowled occasional left-arm medium pace. He was born in Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, and played four One Day Internationals for Pakistan between 1997 and 1998.

Born into a cricketing family whose roots were in Tormang village in Lower Dir, Sarfraz was one of three brothers to play first-class cricket, the others being Zafar Sarfraz and Irfan Sarfraz. His highest score in recognized List A cricket remained 90, and across 98 List A matches he scored 2,636 runs with 22 half-centuries. His fourth and final ODI came in the quarter-final of the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy against the West Indies at Dhaka, in which he scored 14.

Late in his career, playing for the North West Frontier Province Governor's XI against the touring England side in November 2000, Sarfraz scored 53 in the second innings at Peshawar. Overall, he played 118 first-class matches, scoring 5,720 runs at a batting average of 36.43, with 13 centuries and 33 half-centuries. He also played eight Twenty20 matches for Peshawar Panthers, scoring 112 runs.

After his playing career, Sarfraz worked for the Pakistan Cricket Board as a regional coach and later served as a selector for the Pakistan women's team between 2018 and 2019. He died in Lahore on 10 June 2019 at the age of 43 after a battle with cancer, and was buried in his native Lower Dir.