Shahid Afridi: “When Babar replied to my message, he also seemed positive and eager to do well”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi said captain Babar Azam texted him that he was “eager to do well” after going through a minor rough patch.
Azam’s consistency dried up and it became a huge talking point as the 29-year-old is the frontline batsman for the men in green.
Despite not living up to expectations, Afridi noted that Azam “seemed positive” and showed a real hunger to get back to his best.
“When Babar replied to my message, he also seemed positive and eager to do well,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently led Pakistan in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and made 320 runs in nine matches, which included four fifties, at an average of 40.
Pakistan began by beating the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four games in a row to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
They subsequently rebounded to defeat Bangladesh and New Zealand, which kept them in the running to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
However, Pakistan failed to reach the last four and ended up losing their final group stage game against England by 93 runs.
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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