Younis Khan: “He must not only focus on his own performance but also extract the best out of his team”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Legendary Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has urged white-ball captain Babar Azam to “not only focus on his own performance”.

As leader of the national team, Younis noted it is the 29-year-old’s job to also encourage his teammates and get the best out of them.

Pakistan have heavily relied on Azam to score runs over the past few years, but lately a few other players have started stepping up across all three formats.

Nonetheless, Younis insisted that the Lahore-born batsman must think about the team instead of his batting average.

“He must not only focus on his own performance but also extract the best out of his team,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan. “When you’re the captain, it’s not just about your own performance; you need to focus on other players’ performances as well.”

Azam recently led Pakistan in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand and struck 125 runs, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 31.25 and a strike-rate of 138.88.

He then featured in the three-match T20I series against Ireland and accumulated 132 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 44 and a strike-rate of 148.31.

Pakistan are now facing England in a four-match T20I series and find themselves 1-0 down.

After this, they will take part 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

Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

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