Mohammad Amir: “The shots he played; I always used to tell him to play outside his comfort zone. It is a very good sign for Pakistan cricket that he has developed those shots”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm pace bowler Mohammad Amir said it is a good sign for the national team that batsman Babar Azam is playing outside his comfort zone.
Amir noted that he spotted this during the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he played for the Quetta Gladiators and Azam captained the Peshawar Zalmi.
The 29-year-old batting maestro had a brilliant campaign, amassing 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.
Having developed a more fearless and aggressive attitude when at the crease, Amir is hoping Azam maintains this approach when representing Pakistan in the future.
“The shots he played; I always used to tell him to play outside his comfort zone. It is a very good sign for Pakistan cricket that he has developed those shots. I always express my opinion which I feel is right as a cricketer. I hope he continues to play like this for Pakistan as well,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Amir had a solid showing in PSL 9 as he took 10 wickets in nine matches for the Gladiators at an average of 28.60 and an economy rate of 8.41.
The Gladiators advanced to the playoffs, but lost to Islamabad United by 39 runs in Eliminator 1.
As for the Zalmi, they suffered a seven-wicket loss against the Multan Sultans in the Qualifier before losing to eventual champions Islamabad by five wickets in Eliminator 2.
Quetta Gladiators Squad for PSL 9: Rilee Rossouw (captain), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Wasim, Jason Roy, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammad Hasnain, Abrar Ahmed, Will Smeed, Saud Shakeel, Sajjad Ali, Usman Qadir, Omair Bin Yousuf, Adil Naz, Khawaja Nafay, Akeal Hosein, Sohail Khan, Laurie Evans, Bismillah Khan
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