Mohammad Hafeez: “Babar Azam is not the true king; it is Virat Kohli. Look at his performances – he has dominated all over the world. We need to move beyond the PR machinery and focus on real performers”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has proclaimed that Babar Azam “is not the true king”, saying it is time to “move beyond the PR machinery”.
Azam has struggled to score runs consistently for quite some time, which has become a major problem for the men in green.
Recently, he featured in the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, where he amassed 62 runs in three games at an average of 20.66.
The 30-year-old then took part in the 2025 Champions Trophy and finished with 87 runs in two matches, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
Hafeez noted that instead of Azam, India batsman Virat Kohli should be seen as the true king as “he has dominated all over the world”.
“Babar Azam is not the true king; it is Virat Kohli. Look at his performances – he has dominated all over the world. We need to move beyond the PR machinery and focus on real performers,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan were unable to make it out of the group stage in the Champions Trophy as they lost to New Zealand and India.
Their final match against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain.
The men in green will now tour New Zealand for a white-ball series, which will comprise five T20Is and three ODIs that will be held 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
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