Gary Kirsten: “He has done remarkably well as a cricketer and sort of carries a lot of the weight of that team on his shoulders. What we would try to do as a coaching staff is to lift that a little bit and to realise he’s just one of a whole group of players”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten said he wants to lift the weight off the shoulders of limited overs captain Babar Azam so that he can “free himself up to play with his natural talent”.
The men in green have fallen into a habit of relying heavily on Azam when they are in need of runs and the 29-year-old has answered that call on many occasions.
However, Kirsten pointed out that the team has a plethora of outstanding batsmen who need to step up and make their presence felt.
“I have been in touch with Babar. He has done remarkably well as a cricketer and sort of carries a lot of the weight of that team on his shoulders. What we would try to do as a coaching staff is to lift that a little bit and to realise he’s just one of a whole group of players and then he can just free himself up to play with his natural talent,” he told TalkSport Cricket as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
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 proceeded to make 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.
Pakistan are now taking on England in a four-match T20I series and are 1-0 down after suffering a 23-run loss in the second game.
Afterwards, they will feature 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