Mohammad Hafeez: “If Babar plays besides his original batting position, he should raise his skills of batting down the order against Zimbabwe”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez believes that limited overs captain Babar Azam should bat in the middle order during the upcoming series against Zimbabwe in order to “raise his skills” and learn how to play in different situations.

Hafeez added that if Azam were to demote himself, a new pair could be tried at the top of the order.

“I think Babar should bat down the order and a new opening pair should be tried and [assess] their abilities,” Hafeez said on Kamran Akmal’s YouTube channel as quoted by Ary Sports.

“If Babar plays besides his original batting position, he should raise his skills of batting down the order against Zimbabwe.

“I think it is the best opportunity to give more exposure to the younger players. We should not repeat the mistake of selecting [a] full squad as we did in [the] 2018 Zimbabwe tour.”

Hafeez and Azam both starred in the recent T20 series against England. The veteran all-rounder was the top run-scorer among both teams with 155 runs, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 155 and a strike-rate of 176.13. As for Azam, he made 77 runs, which included a top score of 56, at an average of 38.50 and a strike-rate of 124.19.

Zimbabwe are set to tour Pakistan for three ODIs and three T20 Internationals.

It has been reported that the ODI series will be held in Multan and the T20 series will take place in Rawalpindi.

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