Younis Khan: “Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and Rizwan will have to go to the next gear. Nowadays, more runs can be scored at a rapid pace, it is the responsibility of the players to play aggressively”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has called on limited overs captain Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman to score runs faster.
Younis noted that T20 cricket is rapidly changing and teams need bigger scores on the board to win matches.
With the 2024 T20 World Cup right around the corner, he admitted it is imperative that Azam, Rizwan and Zaman lead the charge in playing a more aggressive brand of cricket so that the other batsmen in the squad follow suit.
“If a team scores 200 runs, they will be in a position to save the match, a score of 170 is not sufficient anymore,” Younis was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and Rizwan will have to go to the next gear. Nowadays, more runs can be scored at a rapid pace, it is the responsibility of the players to play aggressively.
“The captain will have to think out of the box, and players will also have to come out of their comfort zones together. Every player should assist the captain; do not leave everything on one person because a plan cannot be made on just one person.”
The Pakistan team recently played a five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which ended as a 2-2 draw.
They then played three T20Is against Ireland and won 2-1.
The men in green are now featuring in a four-match T20I series against England, which is tied at 0-0 after the first game was abandoned due to rain.
Afterwards, they will be in action in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be held 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