Kamran Akmal: “What I noticed in this Test series is that early on, when he comes to bat, he plays so shakily that he seems unsure of where his off-stump is, and his leg stump gets exposed from behind”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal believes former white-ball captain Babar Azam looks so shaky when batting due to certain technical flaws.
Azam was recently in action in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Bangladesh and only managed to make 64 runs at an average of 16.
Having seen the 29-year-old bat in that series, Akmal pointed out that he seemed “unsure of where his off-stump is”.
Furthermore, he became aware of the fact that Azam’s bat was not going “towards the ball’s direction”.
“What I noticed in this Test series is that early on, when he comes to bat, he plays so shakily that he seems unsure of where his off-stump is, and his leg stump gets exposed from behind. Balls that should be played towards cover are being played straight, and the bat doesn’t go towards the ball’s direction,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
Following the Bangladesh series, Azam played for the Stallions in the Champions One-Day Cup, which was a domestic 50-over competition that took place in Faisalabad.
The Lahore native showed encouraging signs of regaining his form as he struck 230 runs in four matches, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 76.66.
He then featured in the first Test against England and made scores of 30 and 5.
Azam was rested for the second Test, which Pakistan won by 152 runs, and won’t be involved in the third Test either, which begins on October 24 in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Squad for 2nd and 3rd Tests against England: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Zahid Mahmood.