Basit Ali: “He should be the one batting through and not worry about the strike-rate. Pakistan’s middle order now have hard hitters but the base at the top must be great”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali has advised white-ball captain Babar Azam not to worry about his strike-rate in T20Is and instead focus on scoring runs regularly.
Azam’s strike-rate has been a hotly debated subject for quite some time, with the 29-year-old’s critics stating that he wastes too many deliveries and puts unnecessary pressure on the middle order.
However, Basit insisted that Azam should turn a deaf ear to all the criticism and do his best to build a solid foundation at the top of the order.
“He should be the one batting through and not worry about the strike-rate. Pakistan’s middle order now have hard hitters but the base at the top must be great,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam led Pakistan in a 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.
Pakistan then played three T20Is against Ireland and he finished with 132 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 44 and a strike-rate of 148.31.
Most recently, the Lahore-born batsman accumulated 68 runs in two T20Is against England at an average of 34 and a strike-rate of 141.66.
Azam is currently in action in the 2024 T20 World Cup and has made 90 runs in three games at an average of 30 and a strike-rate of 104.65.
The men in green lost their first two games against the United States of America and India before picking up a crucial seven-wicket win over Canada.
Pakistan’s next match will be against Ireland on June 16 in Lauderhill.
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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