Ramiz Raja: “I believe Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were under immense pressure”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja detests the constant pressure that is put on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
The duo are Pakistan’s most consistent performers with the bat and are constantly in the spotlight as everyone pays close attention to their performances.
This opens them up to heavy criticism when they fail to deliver in a few matches.
Such an environment is not healthy for the duo, Ramiz feels, especially as Azam captains the national team in all three formats and Rizwan is the first-choice wicketkeeper.
“I believe Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were under immense pressure,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam and Rizwan recently played in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where they captained the Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans respectively.
Rizwan finished as the top run-scorer in the tournament with 550 runs in 12 matches, which included a century and four fifties, at an average of 55 and a strike-rate of 142.85.
As for Azam, he was second on the list with 522 runs in 11 games, which included a hundred and five half-centuries, at an average of 52.20 and a strike-rate of 145.40.
The pair were both rested for Pakistan’s ongoing three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which is being held in Sharjah.
They are now in action in the ongoing white-ball series against New Zealand.
Azam has scored 111 runs in three T20Is, which includes a century, at an average of 55.50 and a strike-rate of 156.33.
As for Rizwan, he made made 64 runs, which includes a fifty, at an average of 21.33 and a strike-rate of 118.51.
Pakistan are 2-1 up in the five-match series and will be aiming to secure an unassailable 3-1 lead in the fourth T20I on Thursday in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan squad for T20I series against New Zealand: 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: 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