Ramiz Raja: “On a slower track, Babar has struggled, barring one or two innings”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has called out captain Babar Azam for his failure to do well on slower tracks.
Azam has been Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorer over the past few years and is expected to keep leading by example with the bat.
However, Ramiz has been unimpressed with the 29-year-old’s poor performances on slower wickets, saying it is simply not good enough for a batsman of his calibre.
“On a slower track, Babar has struggled, barring one or two innings,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam is currently in action in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and has accumulated 216 runs in seven matches, which includes three fifties, at an average of 30.85.
Under his captaincy, the men in green started the tournament on a high as they defeated the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
Things didn’t go according to plan after that as Pakistan subsequently lost to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
The men in green eventually stopped their losing streak with a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in Kolkata.
Still in with a chance of making it to the World Cup semi-finals, Pakistan will be aiming for another win when they face New Zealand on November 4 in Bengaluru.
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