Herschelle Gibbs: “It is often said that he cannot score runs quick enough, but I think he knows how to improve [his] strike-rate and I’m sure he can sacrifice some runs for [his] strike-rate”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs has advised Pakistan captain Babar Azam to “sacrifice some runs” in order to boost his strike-rate.
Azam has been criticised numerous times for his slow batting, especially in T20Is, where he opens with Mohammad Rizwan.
However, Gibbs pointed out that the 29-year-old is fully aware of how to improve his strike-rate and is confident he can do it.
“It is often said that he cannot score runs quick enough, but I think he knows how to improve [his] strike-rate and I’m sure he can sacrifice some runs for [his] strike-rate,” he told Geo News.
Azam is currently captaining Pakistan in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and has made 207 runs in six matches, which includes three fifties, at an average of 34.50.
The men in green started their tournament with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before stumbling in their next four games against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
With their hopes of reaching the semi-finals in serious danger, Pakistan will be looking to thrash Bangladesh when they meet on October 31 in Kolkata.
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″]