Shoaib Malik: “You (Babar Azam) have set a blockage in your mind, that is the problem”
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Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik expressed his disappointment towards limited overs captain Babar Azam, saying he has got “a blockage” in his mind.
He noted that Azam doesn’t have any creativity and keeps sticking to what he knows, which is hurting the men in green.
Malik admitted that the 29-year-old has to change his mindset and approach when leading the national team in order to turn the country’s fortunes around.
“This captaincy talk, I would like to go into its depth. You (Babar Azam) have set a blockage in your mind, that is the problem. If you have decided that Shadab [Khan] has to bat at a certain number, and Azam [Khan] and Iftikhar [Ahmed] have to bat in the last overs, and you do that exactly, these are the blockages,” the 42-year-old was quoted as saying by A Sports.
In the 2024 T20 World Cup, Azam accumulated 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
Pakistan started their campaign with back-to-back losses to the United States of America and India before bouncing back to defeat Canada and Ireland.
Even though they won their last two group stage games, the men in green were unable to progress to the Super Eights.
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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