Shaheen Shah Afridi: “He is the best. He has scored so many runs for Pakistan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi has called limited overs captain Babar Azam “the best” while brushing off concerns about the rough patch he went through.
Azam had struggled to score runs consistently and make the most of any starts, which really hurt the men in green.
However, he returned to form with a bang during the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) as he was the highest run-scorer with 569 runs in 11 matches for the Peshawar Zalmi, which included a century and five fifties, at an average of 56.90 and a strike-rate of 142.60.
Afridi noted that Azam has done well for Pakistan for many years, so a small rough patch is not something to be worried about.
“He is the best. He has scored so many runs for Pakistan, I might be wrong in calculating them. [One to two] innings don’t really make a difference, he is a great player and he has given so many performances for Pakistan as a player and as a captain,” he was quoted as saying by Cricwick.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand and amassed 125 runs, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 31.25 and a strike-rate of 138.88.
He then went on score 132 runs in three T20Is against Ireland, which included two fifties, at an average of 44 and a strike-rate of 148.31.
Next up for Pakistan will be four T20Is against England from May 22 to May 30.
Following this, they will be involved in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be played in the West Indies and United States of America from June 1 to 29.
Pakistan’s first T20 World Cup game will be against the United States of America in Dallas on June 6.
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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