Basit Ali: “His captaincy is affecting his performance with the bat, and he should focus on his batting”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Basit Ali has taken aim at Babar Azam, saying his batting has gone downhill since he became Pakistan captain.
Azam has been Pakistan’s most consistent batsman over the past few years, but concerns have been raised about his captaincy capabilities after the national team’s disappointing home season.
The men in green lost 3-0 in their Test series against England, drew 0-0 in their two-Test series against New Zealand, and lost the three-match ODI series that followed 2-1.
Despite this, Azam was among the top run-scorers for Pakistan in all of those series.
He made 348 runs against England, which included a century and three fifties, at an average of 58.
He then amassed 226 runs in the Tests against New Zealand, which included a top score of 161, at an average of 56.50.
As for the ODI series, he finished with 149 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 49.66.
While his batting has been nothing short of brilliant, Basit still feels the 28-year-old needs to resign as captain.
“His captaincy is affecting his performance with the bat, and he should focus on his batting,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam was recently rested for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which they lost 2-1.
The team’s next assignment will be five T20Is and five ODIs against New Zealand, which will be held from April to May in Pakistan.