Shoaib Akhtar: “There is no intention to improve”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has slammed batsman Babar Azam, saying he has shown “no intention to improve”.
Azam has struggled to score runs regularly as of late, which has really hurt the men in green as he is one of their premier batsmen.
During the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, the 30-year-old mustered 62 runs in three games at an average of 20.66.
He then went on to score 87 runs in two matches in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
Even though Azam was Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, Akhtar has been less than impressed with the Lahore native.
“There is no intention to improve,” the Rawalpindi Express was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Pakistan lost to New Zealand and India in the Champions Trophy, which resulted in them getting eliminated in the group stage.
Their final game against Bangladesh was washed out, meaning they failed to win a single game throughout their entire campaign.
The men in green will now embark on a tour of New Zealand, where they will play five T20Is and three ODIs from March 16 to April 5.
Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir
[TS_Poll id=”149″]