Mohammad Azharuddin: “There is no problem if he bats at lower numbers as well”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former India batsman Mohammad Azharuddin has asked why there would be any problem if Pakistan captain Babar Azam were to demote himself down the order.
He was specifically referring to Azam’s role as an opening batsman in T20Is.
Many people have slammed Azam and his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan for wasting too many overs to score their runs.
With their low strike-rates, it puts additional pressure on the middle order batsmen to boost the run rate towards the end of the innings, their critics point out.
Azharuddin noted that if Azam is not able to make the most of the powerplay, then he should bat lower down.
“There is no problem if he bats at lower numbers as well,” the ex-India captain told Cricket Pakistan.
In the recent season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Azam captained the Peshawar Zalmi and played as an opener for them.
He did exceptionally well in the tournament, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer with 522 runs in 11 matches, which included a hundred and five fifties, at an average of 52.20 and a strike-rate of 145.40.
The Pakistan team recently lost 2-1 to Afghanistan in their three-match T20I series in Sharjah, but Azam was not in action for the men in green as he was rested.