Basit Ali: “I hope Babar performs. If he performs well, he will say, ‘I played for Pakistan.’ But if he doesn’t perform, he can always say, ‘I was forced to open'”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali believes batsman Babar Azam will have an excuse ready if he fails to do well at the 2025 Champions Trophy.
He feels Azam will blame the fact he opened the batting if he struggles to score runs throughout the tournament.
The 30-year-old doesn’t usually open in ODIs and has been in turbulent form heading into the Champions Trophy.
“I hope Babar performs. If he performs well, he will say, ‘I played for Pakistan.’ But if he doesn’t perform, he can always say, ‘I was forced to open’,” Basit said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam is currently featuring in Pakistan’s ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, but hasn’t been anywhere near his best as he made 10 runs against New Zealand and 23 against South Africa.
Once the tri-series finishes, he and the rest of the Pakistan team will take part in the Champions Trophy, which will be held 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
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