Umar Gul: “You can always improve until you say, I am complete, and I don’t need to learn anymore, so, it means that your downfall begins”
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Umar Gul has warned Pakistan captain Babar Azam not to adopt a complacent mindset and be happy with where he is as it will lead to his downfall.
Azam has been Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorer across all three formats over the last few years.
Despite this, Gul noted that the 28-year-old from Lahore should still be striving to get better and become an improved version of his current self.
One of the weaknesses that the former fast bowler noticed Azam has is struggling to put away deliveries that are outside the off-stump.
“You can always improve until you say, I am complete, and I don’t need to learn anymore, so, it means that your downfall begins. But the amount of hard work Babar Azam is putting in, focusing on his batting, I hope that he will definitely work on the weaknesses that [are] pointed out,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently featured in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, where he made 76 runs at an average of 25.33.
He then finished with 113 runs in three ODIs against Afghanistan, which included two fifties, at an average of 37.66.
The Pakistan skipper recently played in the Asia Cup and amassed 207 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 51.75.
The men in green started their campaign with a convincing 238-run win over Nepal before sharing one point apiece with India after their match was washed out.
Having progressed to the Super Four stage, they beat Bangladesh by seven wickets.
Everything went wrong from here as India thrashed Pakistan by 228 runs.
The men in green had the opportunity to make it to the Asia Cup final when they took on Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo, but came up short as they lost by two wickets via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) method.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir