Shan Masood: “We need to give him some time and think that he’s just one innings away from a comeback”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood believes key batsman Babar Azam needs to be given some time to regain his form.
Azam has struggled to score runs consistently as of late, which has been a major concern for the men in green.
However, Masood is confident that the 30-year-old is “just one innings away” from getting back to his best.
“We need to give him some time and think that he’s just one innings away from a comeback,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
During Pakistan’s tour of Australia, Azam made 80 runs in three ODIs at an average of 80.
He followed that up with 47 runs in three T20Is at an average of 15.66.
Pakistan then went to Zimbabwe, but Azam was rested for both the ODI and T20I series.
He returned for the tour of South Africa and started by scoring 31 runs in two T20Is at an average of 15.50.
Azam showed more encouraging signs in the ODI series, accumulating 148 runs in three matches, which included two fifties, at an average of 49.33.
He continued to impress in the two Tests that followed as he made 193 runs, which included three half-centuries, at an average of 48.25.
However, during Pakistan’s recently-concluded two-Test series against the West Indies, Azam saw his form dip again as he was limited to 45 runs at an average of 11.25.
The series finished as a 1-1 draw.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Kashif Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha
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