Shahid Afridi: “He should become a match-winner. The more matches you make Pakistan win, the more the name will grow”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan big-hitter Shahid Afridi wants batsman Babar Azam to “become a match-winner” and grow his name even more.
Azam is already one of the most popular figures in Pakistan cricket, but Afridi feels he can be even more famous if he were to win games for the country as such performances will be remembered forever.
Recently, the 30-year-old was in action in the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, where he scored 62 runs in three matches at an average of 20.66.
The Lahore native then proceeded to take part in the 2025 Champions Trophy and accumulated 87 runs in two games, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
Following this, he featured in Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand and finished with 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
“He should become a match-winner. The more matches you make Pakistan win, the more the name will grow. I mean, some of our best memories, we didn’t win every match, but the matches we have won, we will remember forever,” Afridi said on Star Sports as quoted by Sports Tak.
Azam is now captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and has made 170 runs in seven matches, which includes two half-centuries, at an average of 34 and a strike-rate of 114.09.
PSL 10 got underway on April 11 and will conclude on May 18.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Babar Azam (captain), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore
- Diamond: Corbin Bosch, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris
- Gold: Abdul Samad, Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana
- Silver: Arif Yaqoob, Najibullah Zadran, Max Bryant, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem
- Emerging: Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat
- Supplementary: Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph
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