Irfan Pathan: “When it comes to Babar Azam, you need to get him out lbw, but your aim should not be on his front leg, it should be behind his leg because he’s slightly open”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former India speedster Irfan Pathan has exposed Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s weakness when batting, saying he is susceptible to getting out lbw when getting hit on the back leg.
Azam is, without a doubt, Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorer as he has single-handedly won them matches in all three formats.
That being said, Pathan pointed out that because “he’s slightly open” when he bats, bowlers should target Azam’s back leg rather than the front one.
“When it comes to Babar Azam, you need to get him out lbw, but your aim should not be on his front leg, it should be behind his leg because he’s slightly open,” he said on Star Sports as quoted by NDTV.
Azam is captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he has made scores of 68, 9 and 19 in his first three games against the Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators respectively.
In two out of the three games, he has been given out lbw, with Sultans fast bowler Ihsanullah getting his wicket and Gladiators spinner Mohammad Nawaz trapping him in front of the stumps.
The Zalmi’s next match will be against 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