Sikandar Bakht: “Babar and Rizwan are currently the most senior players in the team, yet they never stand as a pillar for the team during tough times”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan seamer Sikandar Bakht has chastised limited overs captain Mohammad Rizwan and batsman Babar Azam for never rising to the occasion in tough times.
Both batsmen are renowned for their run-scoring abilities, but Bakht pointed out that they can’t get the job done when the men in green need them most.
Lately, Azam has struggled to make big scores, which has become a huge issue for Pakistan as he is the backbone of their batting line-up.
“Babar and Rizwan are currently the most senior players in the team, yet they never stand as a pillar for the team during tough times,” Bakht was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam and Rizwan recently featured in Pakistan’s three-Test series against England, with the former only playing in the first Test and making scores of 30 and 5.
As for Rizwan, he finished with 99 runs at an average of 19.80.
The pair were then involved in a white-ball series against Australia, with Azam scoring 80 runs at an average of 80, while Rizwan accumulated 74 runs at an average of 74.
As for the T20I series that followed, Azam struck 47 runs in three games at an average of 15.66, while Rizwan mustered 16 runs in two matches at an average of eight.
Pakistan recently faced Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI series and triumphed 2-1.
The two teams will now go head to head in three T20Is, with the first match scheduled to begin on December 1 in Bulawayo.
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe T20I Series: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan