Shan Masood: “Batting is a very unforgiving profession, you have one ball. And I think every great batsman has gone through these lean patches. I don’t think there is much to be concerned about, I think he was a bit unlucky”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood has insisted that there is nothing to worry about when it comes to Babar Azam’s previous run of poor form with the bat.
Azam, who leads Pakistan in limited overs cricket, has long been the country’s frontline batsman and the go-to run-scorer in all three formats.
However, over the last few months, he found himself fighting through a rough patch and wasn’t able to put up many big scores.
His form returned during the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he captained the Peshawar Zalmi and finished as the highest run-scorer 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.
“Batting is a very unforgiving profession, you have one ball. And I think every great batsman has gone through these lean patches. I don’t think there is much to be concerned about, I think he was a bit unlucky,” he told Cricwick.
After PSL 9, Azam captained Pakistan in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand and made 125 runs in five games, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 31.25 and a strike-rate of 138.88.
He then proceeded to amass 132 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 44 and a strike-rate of 148.31 in the three-match T20I series against Ireland, which the men in green won 2-1.
Pakistan’s next assignment will see them play four T20Is against England from May 22 to May 30.
Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
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