Sarfaraz Ahmed, is a Pakistani cricketer known for his role as a wicketkeeper-batsman. He captained the Pakistani national cricket team across all formats. Leading Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League, he guided Pakistan to victory in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, defeating India in the final. Notably, he also led the Pakistan under-19 team to victory in the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where they defeated India in the final. Sarfaraz was appointed  Pakistan's Twenty20 International captain after the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 and took over as ODI captain in February 2017. He became Pakistan's Test captain following Misbah-ul-Haq's retirement, becoming the team's 32nd Test captain.

In the One Day International arena, Sarfaraz Ahmed's career highlights include leading the Pakistani team to victory in the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2006, where they defeated India in the final.

His ODI debut came in November 2007, called up as cover for Kamran Akmal's injury during the series against India. Although he didn't bat in his debut match, Pakistan emerged victorious.

In 2008, he was preferred over Kamran Akmal for the Asia Cup.

Sarfaraz Ahmed made his Test debut on 14 January 2010, during the third Test match against Australia in Hobart. He replaced Kamran Akmal, who had struggled with errors in the previous Test. However, Sarfaraz was dropped after just one match.

In 2011, Sarfaraz Ahmed returned to international cricket, playing in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Asia Cup. He scored an unbeaten 46 runs in the Asia Cup final, helping Pakistan win by 2 runs. This performance earned him a Category C contract and a place in Pakistan's T20I series against Sri Lanka.

During the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Sarfaraz initially didn't play in the first four matches. However, he made a significant impact in Pakistan's fifth match against South Africa, scoring 49 runs and taking 6 catches as a wicketkeeper, equalling the ODI record for most dismissals in a match. He replicated this performance in the next match against Ireland, scoring 101* and earning the Man of the Match award, helping Pakistan secure a spot in the Quarterfinals of the World Cup.

After Misbah-ul-Haq retired from ODI cricket after the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Sarfaraz Ahmed emerged as a potential candidate for the captaincy. However, the PCB appointed Azhar Ali as the captain, acknowledging Sarfaraz's leadership skills by naming him vice-captain of the ODI team, given his previous experience leading the Pakistan U-19 team.

In the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle in 2015, Sarfaraz played a crucial innings, scoring 96 runs off just 85 balls, stabilizing Pakistan's innings. Despite falling just four runs short of a century when bowled by Sri Lankan pacer Dhammika Prasad, he became the 7th Pakistani wicketkeeper to reach 1000 Test runs, achieving this milestone in 28 innings, jointly the fastest with Imtiaz Ahmed. His performance earned him the Man of the Match award.

In the third ODI against Zimbabwe on 5 October 2015, Sarfaraz Ahmed stepped in as captain due to a foot injury to the regular ODI captain, Azhar Ali. It marked his debut match as captain, and he led the team to victory, securing his first win in this new role.

Sarfaraz Ahmed was chosen by Quetta Gladiators in the PSL draft in December 2015 and captained the team in the 2016 season, reaching the final but losing to Islamabad United.

After Shahid Afridi stepped down as T20I captain following the disappointing T20 World Cup 2016, Sarfaraz Ahmed took over the reins on 5 April 2016. In his debut match as captain, Pakistan triumphed over England by nine wickets in the only T20I. Under Sarfaraz's captaincy, Pakistan experienced significant success in T20 cricket. They whitewashed the reigning ICC World Twenty20 champions, West Indies, in a 3-match series. Pakistan reached the top spot in the ICC T20I rankings in late 2018. During his tenure, Pakistan won 11 consecutive T20 series, defeating teams such as West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, England, and Zimbabwe. Additionally, Pakistan achieved five bilateral series under his leadership.

After Azhar Ali stepped down from the ODI captaincy on 9 February 2017, Sarfaraz Ahmed was appointed as his successor, becoming the full-time limited overs captain of Pakistan. He also assumed the role of vice-captain for Pakistan's Test team. In his debut series as ODI captain, Pakistan secured a 2–1 victory over West Indies.

Sarfaraz's first major tournament as captain was the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. Despite losing to India in the pool matches, Pakistan bounced back with victories against South Africa and Sri Lanka, securing a spot in the semi-finals. In a memorable semi-final clash against England, Pakistan emerged victorious, advancing to their first-ever Champions Trophy final. Facing arch-rivals India in the final, Pakistan posted a formidable total of 338 runs and convincingly won the match, clinching the championship title.

On 28 September 2017, Sarfaraz Ahmed assumed the role of the 32nd captain of Pakistan in Tests during a series against Sri Lanka.

In 2017, he led Quetta to the final again, but they lost to Peshawar. In the 2018 season, Quetta failed to qualify for the final.

However, in the fourth season, Sarfaraz led Quetta to victory, winning the tournament for the first time. In September 2019, he was appointed captain of Sindh for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

In January 2019, during an ODI against South Africa, Sarfaraz was suspended by the ICC for four matches for using a racial slur. He missed two ODIs and two T20Is.

PCB later reinstated him as captain for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Pakistan won five out of nine matches but missed the semi-finals due to net run rate.

In October 2019, he was removed as captain. Under his leadership, Pakistan won 29 out of 37 T20Is and reached the top spot in rankings. In ODIs, Pakistan won 28 out of 50 matches with a winning rate of 58.33%.

Sarfaraz was part of Pakistan's squad for England tour in June 2020 but didn't play any Test matches.

He joined Galle Gladiators for the inaugural Lanka Premier League in October 2020 and continued to play for them in subsequent seasons, including the third edition in July 2022.

Sarfaraz Ahmed will not lead the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024. According to Nadeem Omer, the franchise owner, Sarfaraz opted to "take a break" from captaincy after serving as captain for 8 seasons.

Despite making his international debut, Sarfaraz Ahmed went unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction.