Azhar Mahmood: “Babar needs to play as an anchor and the rest of the guys can continue being aggressive”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan bowling coach Azhar Mahmood has advised star batsman Babar Azam to play the anchor role while batting so that the other players “can continue being aggressive.”
One of Azam’s main criticisms is his slow batting, with many people having pointed out how he wastes too many deliveries to score his runs.
In order to ensure Pakistan are able to post competitive totals, Mahmood noted that the 29-year-old has to play a supporting role rather than look to be aggressive as it is not his natural game.
“Babar needs to play as an anchor and the rest of the guys can continue being aggressive,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam resigned as Pakistan captain after the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, where he made 320 runs in nine matches, which included four fifties, at an average of 40.
Pakistan began with wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before stumbling against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to take down Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their campaign on a low as England hammered them by 93 runs.
Azam will now represent 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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