Mohammad Hafeez: “We have [the] utmost confidence in Babar’s ability to perform even though he is going through a lean patch. But if it is needed, he can be given a break. But we will speak to him to find out what he wants”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez has confirmed that batsman Babar Azam can take a break from international cricket if he feels it will help end his struggles with the bat.

Azam has been going through a rough patch for a few months, which has really hurt the men in green as he is their frontline batsman.

In the three-match Test series against Australia, the 29-year-old was limited to 126 runs at an average of 21.

He then proceeded to make 213 runs, which included three fifties, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142 in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

“We have [the] utmost confidence in Babar’s ability to perform even though he is going through a lean patch. But if it is needed, he can be given a break. But we will speak to him to find out what he wants,” Hafeez was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Azam will now captain the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), which gets underway on February 17.

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

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