Babar Azam on Abdullah Shafique: “To perform against quality bowling, your confidence goes up higher”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan captain Babar Azam applauded the toughness and grit Abdullah Shafique showed during the Australia Test series in March.
Shafique stole the spotlight during those three Tests as he struck 397 runs, which included a century and two fifties, at an average of 79.40.
Azam was highly impressed with the 22-year-old opening batsman, saying he showed he could perform against a top-quality bowling attack.
“To perform against quality bowling, your confidence goes up higher,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
The men in green recently played a seven-match T20 series against England, where Azam scored 285 runs, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 57 and a strike-rate of 143.21. Despite this, his side ended up losing 4-3.
The men in green will now take on New Zealand and Bangladesh in a T20 tri-series in Christchurch from October 7 to 14.
Pakistan also announced their side for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, which will get underway on October 16.
Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir
Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani