Wasim Akram: “But yes, bowl attacking lines in the first few overs just to check whether they are set on that particular track”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan pace icon Wasim Akram said his game plan to get batting maestro Babar Azam out would be to “bowl attacking lines in the first few overs.”
Based on how Azam would respond to his bowling, Wasim would then formulate the right strategy to dismiss the 29-year-old.
He noted that he used the same tactic when bowling to legendary players like India’s Sachin Tendulkar and the West Indies’ Brian Lara.
“But Babar…for players like Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, it was difficult to bowl to them because they play good shots against good deliveries and hence give you lesser opportunities to dismiss them. These are technically good batters. But yes, bowl attacking lines in the first few overs just to check whether they are set on that particular track,” the Sultan of Swing was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and was in red-hot form as he was the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 569 runs in 11 games, which included a century and five fifties, at an average of 56.90 and a strike-rate of 142.60.
The Zalmi reached the playoffs, but failed to advance to the final as they lost to the Multan Sultans in the Qualifier and eventual champions Islamabad United in Eliminator 2.
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
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