Shoaib Akhtar: “I honestly feel for Babar Azam. Okay, he couldn’t evolve his game in eight years, which is something I have an issue with. You need to evolve, times have changed, so why hasn’t he?”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar has questioned why batsman Babar Azam hasn’t evolved his game in eight years.
Akhtar noted that the demands of players have changed drastically and noted that Azam has to keep up with the times.
The 30-year-old has long been Pakistan’s most dependable batsman, but his form has taken a major hit lately as he has struggled to post big scores on a regular basis.
Despite this, Akhtar made it clear that he has a problem with Azam not adapting his game to adhere to the changes taking place in the sport.
“I honestly feel for Babar Azam. Okay, he couldn’t evolve his game in eight years, which is something I have an issue with. You need to evolve, times have changed, so why hasn’t he?” the Rawalpindi Express was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam has shown signs of returning to form as of late as during the 2025 Champions Trophy, he struck 87 runs in two games, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
After this, the Lahore native featured in three ODIs against New Zealand and accumulated 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
Once the New Zealand tour ended, Azam returned home and captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
In the eight games he played before the tournament was suspended, he scored 178 runs in eight matches, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 29.66 and a strike-rate of 109.87.
PSL 10 is expected to resume on May 17 and conclude on May 25.
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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