Abdul Razzaq: “[They] really need to step up and improve their game”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has called on batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to “step up and improve their game.”
Razzaq wants to see the duo have a bigger impact and score runs more consistently by adopting a more fearless brand of cricket.
Since Azam and Rizwan are Pakistan’s frontline batsmen, he noted the onus is on them to make the changes needed to ensure they keep taking their skills to the next level.
“[They] really need to step up and improve their game,” he told Geo News.
Before stepping down as captain, Azam led Pakistan in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and made 320 runs in nine matches, which included four half-centuries, at an average of 40.
Rizwan, meanwhile, amassed 395 runs in nine games, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 65.83.
Pakistan started with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four in a row to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they managed to bounce back and beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their World Cup campaign with a 93-run loss to England.
Azam and Rizwan will now represent Pakistan in their three-match Test series against Australia, which will begin 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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