Shoaib Malik: “We celebrated Babar Azam’s No. 1 ranking in ODI cricket. But what did he win for Pakistan with that ranking? We should have celebrated match-winning performances for Pakistan and not individual rankings”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has slammed Babar Azam, asking what he won for the national team when he was the number one ranked batsman in the world.
Azam has struggled tremendously as of late and has seen his consistency disappear when it comes to scoring runs.
During the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, he mustered 62 runs in three matches at an average of 20.66.
He then proceeded to make 87 runs in two games in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
“We celebrated Babar Azam’s No. 1 ranking in ODI cricket. But what did he win for Pakistan with that ranking? We should have celebrated match-winning performances for Pakistan and not individual rankings,” Malik was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan are now facing New Zealand in a limited overs series and were beaten 4-1 in the T20Is, which Azam was not picked for.
However, the 30-year-old was selected for the ongoing three-match ODI series and struck 78 runs in the 1st ODI in Napier, which the men in green lost by 73 runs.
The 2nd ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand will be played 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
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