Inzamam-ul-Haq: “He is answering the critics with his bat”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan legend Inzamam-ul-Haq said captain Babar Azam lets his batting do the talking for him whenever he needs to silence his critics.
Azam is often criticised when he fails to perform for a few games, but Inzamam said the 28-year-old should ignore what is being said about him and focus on continuing to perform at the highest level.
Currently, the 28-year-old is leading the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he has accumulated 416 runs in nine matches, which includes a century and four fifties, at an average of 52 and a strike-rate of 146.47.
“He is answering the critics with his bat,” Inzamam was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
The Zalmi are through to the playoffs and will go up against Islamabad United in the Eliminator on Thursday.
Following the conclusion of the PSL, Pakistan will play three T20Is against Afghanistan, but Azam has been rested for the series, which will take place from March 25 to 28 in Sharjah.
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
Pakistan squad for T20I series against Afghanistan: Shadab Khan (capt), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan
Reserve players: Abrar Ahmed, Haseebullah, Usama Mir