Shoaib Mohammad: “30 or 40 runs is considered a failure for Babar Azam but a success story for others”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan opener Shoaib Mohammad believes batsman Babar Azam is the victim as unfair treatment as even when he scores 30 to 40 runs, it is “considered a failure”.
He noted that if other Pakistan batsmen make the same number of runs, it is thought to be a “success story”.
Azam has long been Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorer in all three formats, but has been going through a rough patch over the last few months.
Despite this, Shoaib feels the 30-year-old is held to extremely high standards when compared to everyone else.
“30 or 40 runs is considered a failure for Babar Azam but a success story for others,” the 64-year-old, who is the son of legendary Pakistan batsman Hanif Mohammad, told PakPassion.
Azam recently featured in Pakistan’s tour of South Africa and started off with 31 runs in two T20Is at an average of 15.50.
He then proceeded to make 148 runs in three ODIs, which included two fifties, at an average of 49.33.
As for the two-Test series, he continued to shine, scoring 193 runs, which included three half-centuries, at an average of 48.25.
However, the Lahore native failed to maintain his momentum in the two-Test series against the West Indies as he was restricted to 45 runs at an average of 11.25.
Azam will now represent Pakistan in their ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa before going on to play in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will take place from February 19 to March 9.
Pakistan Squad for 2025 Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah
[TS_Poll id=”161″]