Simon Doull: “Where does that directive for the nature of the pitches come from? Does that come from Babar Azam who wants to bat on a road and improve his own stats or does it come from people above him?”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Well-known commentator Simon Doull has taken aim at Pakistan captain Babar Azam while slamming the pitches prepared for the team’s recent series against New Zealand.
The pitches were very flat and offered almost no assistance to the bowlers, meaning plenty of runs were scored by the batsmen.
Doull questioned whether Azam asked for such wickets to be prepared in order to boost his own statistics or if it was requested by someone else.
“Where does that directive for the nature of the pitches come from? Does that come from Babar Azam who wants to bat on a road and improve his own stats or does it come from people above him?” he was quoted as saying by journalist Saj Sadiq on Twitter.
Both the Test matches Pakistan played against New Zealand in that series ended as a draw, while the Black Caps won three ODIs played afterwards 2-1.
Most recently, the men in green took on Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series in Sharjah, which they lost 2-1. Azam was not part of Pakistan’s squad as he was rested.