Mudassar Nazar: “Joe Root was facing the same issue but he worked on it. Babar needs to do focus on the doing the same thing”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan batsman Mudassar Nazar said there is nothing stopping captain Babar Azam from converting his fifties into hundreds in Test cricket, especially if England cricketer Joe Root was able to do it.
Nazar noted that this is a key problem for Azam right now as he needs to make the most of his starts in order to give his side a better chance of winning.
So far, the 28-year-old has featured in 47 Tests and scored 3,696 runs, which includes nine centuries and 26 half-centuries, at an average of 48.63.
“Joe Root was facing the same issue but he worked on it. Babar needs to do focus on the doing the same thing,” Nazar told Cricket Pakistan.
Azam will now captain Pakistan in their limited overs series against New Zealand, which will begin on April 14 and consist of five T20Is and five ODIs.
Pakistan squad for T20I series against New Zealand:Â Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Zaman Khan
Pakistan squad for ODI series against New Zealand:Â Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Usama Mir