Usman Shinwari: “In T20s, I won’t feel much pressure against him because he relies on conventional shots, and as a bowler, you don’t expect Babar to slog sweep a good length delivery or play an unorthodox shot out of nowhere for a six”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Usman Shinwari, the left-arm pace bowler, said he isn’t scared of bowling to Babar Azam in T20s as he doesn’t expect the Pakistan captain to unleash big shots.
Shinwari noted that he would know what to expect from the 28-year-old as he usually “relies on conventional shots.”
Azam may play more orthodox shots when batting in the shortest format, but it has brought him plenty of success to date as he averages 41.48 in T20Is.
As for his overall T20 career, which includes domestic matches, the Lahore native averages 43.60.
“In T20s, I won’t feel much pressure against him because he relies on conventional shots, and as a bowler, you don’t expect Babar to slog sweep a good length delivery or play an unorthodox shot out of nowhere for a six. For this reason, I won’t feel any danger bowling to him in T20s. But in Tests and ODIs, he remains my favourite batter,” Shinwari was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam’s recently mustered 76 runs in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka at an average of 25.33.
He followed that up with 113 runs in the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 37.66.
In the Asia Cup, he finished with 207 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 51.75.
Azam is now captaining Pakistan in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, but hasn’t been at his best with the bat as he has made scores of 5 and 10 in the team’s first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka respectively.
Despite this, Pakistan defeated the Netherlands by 81 runs and Sri Lanka by six wickets, during which the men in green chased down a huge target of 345, making it the highest successful run chase in World Cup history.
Pakistan will now take on India on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali
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