Shoaib Malik: “He can do wonders for Pakistan as a player”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Senior all-rounder Shoaib Malik believes Babar Azam can do wonders for Pakistan now that he is not captain anymore.
Azam resigned as skipper in all three formats following the team’s elimination from the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
So far, it has been confirmed that Shan Masood will take over as Test captain, while Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead Pakistan in T20Is.
Considering that Azam is no longer under pressure from a captaincy standpoint, Malik noted that the 29-year-old is free to fully focus on his batting.
“He can do wonders for Pakistan as a player,” the 41-year-old was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
In the World Cup, Azam scored 320 runs in nine matches, which included four half-centuries, at an average of 40.
Pakistan kicked off their campaign with successive wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before stumbling against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
The men in green managed to stop their four-game skid with back-to-back victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand, but it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, Pakistan lost their last group stage match against England by 93 runs.
Azam’s next assignment will be Pakistan’s three-match Test series against Australia, which begins 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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