Lockie Ferguson: “Obviously they are skilled batters. Played against them quite a lot. I think they enjoy coming down here”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson acknowledged that Pakistan batsmen Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman are “skilled” and can be major threats.
Ferguson recently played against the duo during New Zealand’s five-match T20I series against Pakistan, but insisted that he was not concerned about bowling to them.
During the series, which the Black Caps won 4-1, the 32-year-old dismissed Zaman twice, but failed to get Azam out.
“Obviously they are skilled batters. Played against them quite a lot. I think they enjoy coming down here,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam, who was in poor form coming into the series, showed signs of recovering as he amassed 213 runs, which included three fifties, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142.
Zaman, meanwhile, scored 126 runs, which included a top score of 50, at an average of 25.20 and a strike-rate of 165.78.
Azam is now captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Zaman is playing for the Lahore Qalandars.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Asif Ali, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Naveen-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Zeeshan, Mehran Mumtaz, Luke Wood, Sufiyan Muqeem, Waqar Salamkheil, Arshad Iqbal, Gus Atkinson, Shamar Joseph
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 9: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Rassie van der Dussen, Haris Rauf, David Wiese, Sahibzada Farhan, Sikandar Raza, Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan, Mirza Tahir Baig, Mohammad Imran, Ahsan Hafeez, Dan Lawrence, Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun, Shai Hope, Kamran Ghulam, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Tayyab Abbas
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