Usman Qadir on Babar Azam: “In fact, Babar’s friendship has caused me more harm than benefit because that has always added extra pressure on both of us equally”
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Usman Qadir, the Pakistan spinner, believes that his friendship with captain Babar Azam has “caused me more harm than benefit.”
Explaining why, he noted that there is “extra pressure on both of us equally.”
Qadir, who was recently in action at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, has been trying to get back into the national team on a permanent basis.
In order to do this, the 30-year-old, who is the son of legendary spinner Abdul Qadir, has been putting in the work to get back on the selectors’ radar.
Qadir has mostly featured in T20Is to date, having played 25 matches and taken 31 wickets at an impressive average of 18.48 and an economy rate of 7.95.
“If the critique is around Babar’s and my friendship, then I should never have been out of the team in the first place. In fact, Babar’s friendship has caused me more harm than benefit because that has always added extra pressure on both of us equally,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan recently beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in a Test series before defeating Afghanistan 3-0 in an ODI series.
Following this, they were involved in the Asia Cup, where they fell agonisingly short of qualifying for the final.
Currently, the men in green are playing in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, where they have beaten the Netherlands by 81 runs and Sri Lanka by six wickets.
Azam made scores of 5 and 10 in those two games respectively and will now be aiming to post a big score in Pakistan’s clash against 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