Mohammad Azharuddin: “Babar Azam has his own style; aggression is not his way of playing cricket”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former India cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin said people need to stop expecting Pakistan captain Babar Azam to be aggressive when he bats as it is not his style.
Azam’s strike-rate, particularly in T20Is, has been the subject of much discussion lately as plenty of fans and former players believe he needs to score runs quicker.
However, Azharuddin came to the 28-year-old’s defence, saying he has his own style of batting and should be permitted to play the way he feels most comfortable.
“Babar Azam has his own style; aggression is not his way of playing cricket,” he was quoted as saying by Cricwick. “He has a variety of shots and has been doing well with that. We shouldn’t expect him to go against his natural style.”
In the recent five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which ended as a 2-2 draw, Azam scored 130 runs, which included a century, at an average of 43.33 and a strike-rate of 146.07.
Pakistan and New Zealand are now playing five ODIs. The men in green triumphed in the first match by five wickets and will be looking to take a 2-0 lead in the series on Saturday in Rawalpindi.
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