Shahid Afridi: “[The] Pakistan team should not revolve around Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi only”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Interim Pakistan chief selector Shahid Afridi has said the national team must stop relying on captain Babar Azam and left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi all the time.
In times of trouble, all eyes turn to Azam with the bat and Shaheen with the ball to come to the rescue.
Afridi pointed out that this trend cannot continue as there are nine other cricketers in the playing XI who have to stand up and make their presence felt.
“[The] Pakistan team should not revolve around Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi only,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam has been in great form lately as he accumulated 226 runs in the two-Test series against New Zealand, which included a top score of 161, at an average of 56.50.
He then made 66 runs off 82 balls, which included five boundaries and a six, in the first ODI on Monday.
Afridi wasn’t picked for the Test series nor the ongoing ODIs as he is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered in the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan won the first ODI by six wickets and will be aiming to secure an unassailable 2-0 series lead in the second match on Wednesday.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand ODI series: Babar Azam (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Agha Salman, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Usama Mir