Azhar Ali: “I think he has taken too much pressure on himself to play long innings. He should just go out and play freely”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali has advised Test captain Shan Masood to “go out and play freely” when featuring in T20 matches.
He noted that the 34-year-old is putting too much pressure on himself, which is hurting his performance with the bat.
Masood recently captained the Karachi Kings in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and failed to have much of an impact for the entire tournament as he was limited to 158 runs in 10 matches at an average of 15.80 and a strike-rate of 105.33.
“I think he has taken too much pressure on himself to play long innings. He should just go out and play freely,” Azhar was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“According to the conditions, he should attempt whatever shots are possible, not taking too much pressure on himself. T20 cricket is all about looking to score, enjoying your batting, and being smart about it.”
The Kings were unable to book their spot in the PSL playoffs as they finished in fifth place on the points table after winning four out of the 10 games they played.
Karachi Kings Squad for PSL 9: Shan Masood (captain), Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Mohammad Nawaz, James Vince, Hasan Ali, Tim Seifert, Shoaib Malik, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Akhlaq, Mohammad Amir Khan, Anwar Ali, Arafat Minhas, Irfan Khan, Sirajuddin, Saad Baig, Jamie Overton, Leus du Plooy, Mohammad Rohid, Zahid Mahmood
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