Salman Ali Agha: “The way that he’s working on his batting, I think it’s just a matter of time. Very soon you’ll see a big hundred from him”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan middle order batsman Salman Ali Agha is confident that a “big hundred” is right around the corner for Babar Azam.
Azam hasn’t been at his best for a few months and his poor run of form has become a major talking point, especially since the men in green haven’t been able to achieve the results they want.
In the three-match Test series against Australia, which Pakistan lost 3-0, the 29-year-old was limited to 126 runs at an average of 21.
As for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which the men in green lost 4-1, Azam made 213 runs, which included three fifties, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142.
Salman believes that Azam’s bad form will end really soon as he has been working very hard to turn his fortunes around.
“The way that he’s working on his batting, I think it’s just a matter of time. Very soon you’ll see a big hundred from him,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam will now captain the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Salman will play for Islamabad United.
PSL 9 will be held from February 17 to March 18 in four cities – 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 (partially available), Arshad Iqbal, Haseebullah, Gus Atkinson (partially available), Asif Ali, Naveen-ul-Haq (reserved), Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Mohammad Zeeshan, Waqar Salamkheil, Mehran Mumtaz, Luke Wood, Sufyan Muqeem, Shamar Joseph
Islamabad United Squad for PSL 9: Shadab Khan (captain), Naseem Shah, Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Rumman Raees, Matthew Forde, Salman Ali Agha, Qasim Akram, Shahab Khan, Hunain Shah, Ubaid Shah, Shamyl Hussain, Tom Curran (reserved), Obed McCoy, Haider Ali