Mohammad Amir: “Babar doesn’t deserve to be in [the] T20 side”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir believes batting maestro Babar Azam should be axed from the T20I team as he “doesn’t deserve” to be picked.
Azam, who recently stepped down as captain, has been one of Pakistan’s most consistent performers in T20Is and averages 41.48 in the format.
However, his poor strike-rate has been a major topic as his critics believe that he is wasting too many deliveries to score his runs, which subsequently puts unnecessary pressure on the middle order to hit big right from the get-go.
“Babar doesn’t deserve to be in [the] T20 side,” Amir was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam’s last assignment as captain was leading Pakistan in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, where he made 320 runs in nine matches, which included four fifties, at an average of 40.
The men in green won their first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before falling to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite bouncing back from their four-game skid with consecutive victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to make it to the semi-finals.
Pakistan concluded their campaign on a sour note as England battered them by 93 runs.
Azam will now play in Pakistan’s upcoming 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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