Shoaib Akhtar: “Babar is obviously a great player, but you need to go out there and win in bigger games like these. I am sure you will be able to do that in days to come. I hope you play big knocks in big games”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar has called on batting maestro Babar Azam to stand up and deliver in big games.
He noted that as Pakistan’s frontline batsman, the 29-year-old needs to post big scores in important matches as it will further cement his reputation as one of the best in the world.
With Azam having stepped down as captain in all three formats, he will now be free to focus fully on his batting, which could potentially result in a return to form for him.
The Lahore-born cricketer hasn’t been at his usual best as of late and was unable to have as big of an impact as he would have wanted in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup as he made 320 runs in nine matches, which included four half-centuries, at an average of 40.
Going forward, Akhtar wants Azam to start making valuable contributions in “bigger games” and he knows the star player is more than capable of doing it.
“Babar is obviously a great player, but you need to go out there and win in bigger games like these. I am sure you will be able to do that in days to come. I hope you play big knocks in big games,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by NDTV.
Pakistan began the World Cup with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before falling to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite ending their four-game losing streak with consecutive victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand, the men in green missed out on a semi-final spot.
They ended up losing their last group stage game against England as well, which added insult to injury.
Azam will now play for Pakistan in their three-match Test series against Australia, which starts on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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