Matthew Hayden: “When his performances aren’t quite on song, it matters”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Australia opening batsman Matthew Hayden has admitted that it really does matter when Pakistan captain Babar Azam fails to score runs for a lengthy period of time.
Considering Azam is the spearhead of the Pakistan batting line-up, he is expected to consistently make runs and lead the team to victory.
The 29-year-old from Lahore has gone through a small rough patch, but seems to be slowly getting back to his best.
However, Hayden noted that this cannot become a habit and Azam cannot afford to endure a long-lasting period where he doesn’t score runs as the men in green are heavily dependent on him.
“When his performances aren’t quite on song, it matters,” he told Star Sports as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam is currently captaining Pakistan in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and has accumulated 157 runs in five matches, which includes two fifties, at an average of 31.40.
The men in green started their campaign with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing three straight against India, Australia and Afghanistan.
Having found themselves in a spot of bother, Pakistan will be eager to secure a massive win against South Africa on October 27 in Chennai.
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
[TS_Poll id=”87″]