Matthew Hayden: “Glad to see the captain Babar Azam back at [the] helm, he is [a] natural leader and should be there”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Australia opening batsman Matthew Hayden is glad to see Babar Azam captaining Pakistan once again, saying he “should be there” as “he is [a] natural leader”.
Azam stepped down from the leadership role in all three formats in November 2023 before returning as limited overs skipper in March 2024.
While there will be immense pressure on the 29-year-old to deliver exceptional results, Hayden is confident the Lahore-born batsman can do it.
“Glad to see the captain Babar Azam back at [the] helm, he is [a] natural leader and should be there,” he was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand and finished with 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 score 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.
Afterwards, he made 68 runs in two T20Is against England at an average of 34 and a strike-rate of 141.66.
Azam is now leading the men in green in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where he has made 90 runs in three games at an average of 30 and a strike-rate of 104.65.
Pakistan will not make it past the group stage of the tournament as they lost to the United States of America and India.
Their seven-wicket victory over Canada wasn’t enough to save them and they will now conclude their campaign on June 16 when they take on Ireland 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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