Mohammad Yousuf: “The big players such as Williamson, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Rohit Sharma keep playing in the gaps and score their runs”
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Iconic Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf has advised power-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan to target the gaps and score runs.
Yousuf noted that many of the world’s top players, including India captain Virat Kohli, opener Rohit Sharma, Pakistan leader Babar Azam and New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, are so successful because they use this method to build their innings and keep the runs flowing.
Azam is known for being a powerful big-hitter, but Yousuf said he needs to start learning to stay at the crease for a long time instead of looking to hit right from the get-go.
Azam, who is the son of former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Moin Khan, has been turning heads with a number of strong performances and his big-hitting skills in domestic cricket.
In the Pakistan Cup, he accumulated 186 runs in seven games for Sindh, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 46.50 and a strike-rate of 124.83.
As for the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the 22-year-old scored 98 runs in five matches for the Quetta Gladiators at an average of 19.60 and a strike-rate of 144.11.
“The most you usually get in T20s is either 180 to 190 or in some rare cases 215. That score can also be scored if you settle in and play your shots. The big players such as Williamson, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Rohit Sharma keep playing in the gaps and score their runs,” Yousuf, who is the batting coach at the National High Performance Centre (NHPC) in Lahore, told Cricket Pakistan.