Inzamam-ul-Haq: “I don’t think he should be replaced”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq feels it would be a big mistake to replace Babar Azam as Pakistan captain.
His defence of the 28-year-old comes after there have been rumours of a potential change in leadership coming in one or more formats.
Currently, Azam captains Pakistan in all three forms of the game, but a string of poor performances have led to mounting pressure on him.
Despite a 3-0 Test series loss to England, a 0-0 Test series draw against New Zealand and a 2-1 loss to the Black Caps in a three-match ODI series, Inzamam wants Pakistan to retain Azam as skipper.
“I don’t think he should be replaced,” the former chief selector was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam is now in action in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he is in charge of the Peshawar Zalmi.
In the nine matches he has played, he has amassed 416 runs, which includes a century and four fifties, at an average of 52 and a strike-rate of 146.47.
Under his guidance, the team have won four games and lost five.
Their next match will be against Islamabad United on Sunday.
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