Shahid Afridi: “[He] is our most consistent performer, he needs our support and backing”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Renowned six-hitter Shahid Afridi said Babar Azam is Pakistan’s “most consistent performer” as he has played match-winning knocks in all three formats time and time again.
He called on people to keep supporting and backing the Pakistan captain, even when the team goes through tough times.
Many do the opposite when the men in green suffer a string of disappointing results, but Afridi noted that it is easy to forget how many times Azam has saved the side from the jaws of defeat.
“[He] is our most consistent performer, he needs our support and backing,” the 42-year-old, who recently served as the interim chief selector, was quoted as saying by Cricwick.
In the recent series against New Zealand, which comprised two Tests and three ODIs, Azam was in fine form with the bat.
He scored 226 runs in the Test series, which included a top score of 161, at an average of 56.50.
The 28-year-old then proceeded to make 149 runs in the ODIs, which included two fifties, at an average of 49.66.
However, with Pakistan having endured a disappointing home season, rumours are swirling about Azam potentially not captaining the national team in all three formats any longer.
Shan Masood’s name has popped up as his possible successor in ODIs, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
Currently, Azam is captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he has started off by recording scores of 68, 9 and 19 in his first three matches.
Next up for the Zalmi will be a clash with Islamabad United on Thursday.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 8: Babar Azam, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Haris, Aamir Jamal, Salman Irshad, Tom-Kohler Cadmore, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rovman Powell, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Danish Aziz, Arshad Iqbal, Saim Ayub, Usman Qadir, Suifyan Muqeem, Haseebullah, Jimmy Neesham, Khurram Shahzad, Haris Sohail, Richard Gleeson (partial replacement for Rovman Powell), Peter Hatzoglou (partial replacement for Mujeeb ur Rahman), Shakib Al Hasan (available for playoffs), Azmatullah Omarzai