Mohammad Hafeez: “With that pressure eased, I think Babar’s performance will get even better”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez said he expects Babar Azam’s batting performance to get better since he is under less pressure now.
Azam stepped down as captain in all three formats after Pakistan’s disappointing campaign in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Now that he has relinquished the captaincy, Hafeez wants to see the 29-year-old lead from the front with the bat and consistently make big scores.
“With that pressure eased, I think Babar’s performance will get even better. He has already been making excellent contributions for Pakistan cricket, and I think he will further enhance his performance to help Pakistan achieve success,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam was recently in action for Pakistan in their three-match Test series against Australia and made 126 runs at an average of 21.
He has started to rediscover some form in the ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand as he made scores of 57 and 66 in the first two matches.
Despite Azam’s efforts, Pakistan lost both games and will look to avoid a series defeat in the third T20I, which will be held on January 17 in Dunedin.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20I Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan (wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan
[TS_Poll id=”100″]