Inzamam-ul-Haq: “When Babar Azam gets out for Pakistan, the opposition’s bowlers get a boost, and Pakistan’s dressing room feels the pressure”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said Babar Azam is the big wicket when the men in green play any team.
He noted that every bowler wants to get Azam out as they know it will add a lot of pressure on the other Pakistan players.
Azam’s form has been a major talking point over the last few months as he hasn’t been able to get the job done with the bat.
Recently, he featured in Pakistan’s ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, where he accumulated 62 runs in three games at an average of 20.66.
He then proceeded to take part in the 2025 Champions Trophy and amassed 87 runs in two matches, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
“When Babar Azam gets out for Pakistan, the opposition’s bowlers get a boost, and Pakistan’s dressing room feels the pressure,” Inzamam was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Pakistan were knocked out in the group stage of the Champions Trophy after losing to New Zealand and India.
Their final game against Bangladesh was washed out, meaning they failed to win a single match throughout their campaign.
Pakistan are now playing a limited overs series against New Zealand and were beaten 4-1 in the T20Is, which Azam wasn’t picked for.
He did, however, get selected for the ongoing three-match ODI series and began by making 78 runs in the 1st ODI in Napier.
Despite Azam’s solid performance with the bat, Pakistan lost the match by 73 runs.
The 2nd ODI will take place on April 2 in Hamilton.
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