Babar Azam: “He is our champion”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has thrown his support behind left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi, saying he is the team’s “champion.”
Afridi has replaced Azam as Pakistan’s T20I captain, which will now put more pressure on him to deliver results as a leader and as the spearhead of the pace attack.
Despite this, Azam is confident that the 23-year-old will continue excelling with the ball and getting the big breakthroughs people expect of him.
“He is our champion,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
In the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, Afridi took 18 wickets in nine matches at an average of 26.72.
As for Azam, he amassed 320 runs in nine games, which included four half-centuries, at an average of 40.
Pakistan began by beating the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite bouncing back to take down Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
Pakistan ended their World Cup campaign on a low as they lost to England by 93 runs.
Azam and Afridi will now represent Pakistan in their three-match Test series against Australia, which begins on December 14 in Perth.
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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