Mohammad Asif: “He is the only proper player right now. I don’t know why he is being dragged into politics, or if he is getting involved in it, he shouldn’t do that”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan speedster Mohammad Asif believes white-ball captain Babar Azam is the “only proper player” in the team right now.
Azam has been Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorer in all three formats for the past few years and has repeatedly won games single-handedly.
Given the 29-year-old’s importance, Asif urged him to steer clear of politics as it “could damage his career”.
“He is the only proper player right now. I don’t know why he is being dragged into politics, or if he is getting involved in it, he shouldn’t do that. He is above the captaincy and needs to carry the young players in his circle along with him. Such politics could damage his career,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup and amassed 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
The men in green began their campaign with consecutive losses to the United States of America and India before rebounding to beat Canada and Ireland.
Even though they ended the group stage on a high, Pakistan failed to advance 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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