Sohaib Maqsood: “He scored heavily against Sunil Narine, probably the most difficult spinner [in] white-ball cricket, so stop this bulls**t [and] let Babar bat where he has batted his [whole] life [and] that is [at] 3”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan big-hitter Sohaib Maqsood has rubbished all the talk that batsman Babar Azam can’t play spin, calling it “bulls**t”.
He specifically mentioned that Azam has scored runs against former West Indies spinner Sunil Narine, who he described as “probably the most difficult spinner [in] white-ball cricket”.
Lately, Azam has been batting as an opener in ODI cricket since regular opening batsman Saim Ayub is out of action with a fractured ankle.
During the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, Azam opened the batting and made 62 runs in three matches at an average of 20.66.
The 30-year-old has continued to open in the 2025 Champions Trophy and started off with 64 runs off 90 balls in Pakistan’s opening game against New Zealand.
Despite Azam’s solid performance, Maqsood wants to see him return to the number three spot.
“When you are out of form, your weaknesses get exposed but saying Babar can only face pace that’s why he should be opening only is just bulls**t from some cricket experts. He has scored 30+ international 100s, did he only face pace? He scored heavily against Sunil Narine, probably the most difficult spinner [in] white-ball cricket, so stop this bulls**t [and] let Babar bat where he has batted his [whole] life [and] that is [at] 3,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan lost their Champions Trophy match against New Zealand by 60 runs and will now take on India on February 23 in Dubai.
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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