Ramiz Raja: “The first 15 to 20 minutes for Babar in Test cricket are always crucial because he tries to adjust… He needs to play with tight defense and spend time on the crease”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja believes batsman Babar Azam needs to be a defensive wall when he comes out to bat in Test matches as the first 15 to 20 minutes “are always crucial” for him.
Ramiz noted that the 29-year-old needs to “spend time on the crease” and not try to do anything out of the ordinary as it is his job to be Pakistan’s frontline batsman and score runs.
His comments come after Azam failed to impress in the recent three-match Test series against Australia, where he amassed 126 runs at an average of 21.
“The first 15 to 20 minutes for Babar in Test cricket are always crucial because he tries to adjust… He needs to play with tight defense and spend time on the crease,” Ramiz said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Following the Test series against Australia, where Pakistan were beaten 3-0, Azam played in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand and accumulated 213 runs, which included three fifties, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142.
Despite his efforts with the bat, the men in green succumbed to a 4-1 defeat.
Azam will now captain the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), which will be held from February 17 to March 18 in Lahore, Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Haseebullah Khan, Asif Ali, Naveen-ul-Haq, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Mohammad Zeeshan, Lungi Ngidi, Mehran Mumtaz, Noor Ahmad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob