Kamran Akmal: “With captaincy, there will be pressure, which will affect his batting and his approach”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal has expressed his concerns about Babar Azam’s batting taking a hit at some point due to the pressure on him as captain.
Azam has undergone rough patches here and there, but they have never lasted too long. In fact, his most recent one came during the 2022 T20 World Cup, where he was only able to muster 124 runs in seven matches at an average of 17.71 and a strike-rate of 93.23.
However, in Pakistan’s next series, which saw them play three Tests against England, he regained his form and amassed 348 runs, which included a century and three fifties, at an average of 58.
While Pakistan lost the series 3-0, Akmal admitted he is worried that Azam’s dry spells with the bat will become a more frequent trend.
“With captaincy, there will be pressure, which will affect his batting and his approach,” he was quoted as saying by Cricwick.
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Azam is now playing in the two-Test series against New Zealand, which he started he scoring a magnificent 161 in the first match, which came off 280 balls and included 15 boundaries and a six.
As for the second Test, which began on Monday in Karachi, he made 24 runs in the first innings before being run out.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand Test Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood and Zahid Mahmood