Ramiz Raja: “[Pakistan’s] batting would be probably a two and bowling probably a six. I would rate him (Babar) about five because a captain is as good as the team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja said he would give limited overs captain Babar Azam a rating of five out of 10 for his performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Explaining where the 29-year-old lost points, Ramiz noted that Pakistan’s batting was dreadful, while their bowling was pretty good.
He also admitted that Azam “tried his best” but needed more support from the other players in the team.
“[Pakistan’s] batting would be probably a two and bowling probably a six. I would rate him (Babar) about five because a captain is as good as the team and your captaincy comes through when the team is bowling, and in the bowling department, Pakistan have not done too badly. He tried his best but the others had to put in an effort as well,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam was Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in the T20 World Cup with 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
The men in green kicked off their campaign with successive losses to the United States of America and India before bouncing back to take down Canada and Ireland.
Even though they won those two games, it was not enough to secure them a spot in the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup:Â 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