Shahid Afridi: “I told him to be confident since he is a big match player”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan power-hitter Shahid Afridi has revealed that he told Babar Azam to “be confident” as he is a “big match player.”
Azam has not been in the best of form over the past couple of months, but started showing signs of rediscovering his consistency in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The 29-year-old from Lahore amassed 320 runs in nine matches, which includes four fifties, at an average of 40.
However, his form dipped again in the three-match Test series against Australia as he finished with 126 runs at an average of 21.
Azam is now playing in Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand and has shone with the bat as he made scores of 57, 66 and 58 in the first three matches.
Afridi wants to see Azam return to form on a more consistent basis and continue succeeding with the bat for a prolonged period of time. In order to achieve this, he feels the former Pakistan captain has to play positive cricket and not succumb to the pressure that he is constantly under.
“I told him to be confident since he is a big match player,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan are 3-0 down in their series against New Zealand and will look to claim a consolation win in the fourth T20I, which takes place on January 19 in Christchurch.
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
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