Umar Akmal: “Yes, he’s going through a tough phase, but he’s still Pakistan’s best batsman. Remember, he led the team with pride for five years. Form comes and goes, but class stays forever”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Veteran cricketer Umar Akmal believes Babar Azam is still “Pakistan’s best batsman” despite not having posted a lot of big scores over the past few months.
Azam has been working hard to break out of the rough patch he finds himself in and seems to be making strides in doing that judging by his performances in his last couple of assignments.
During the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, the 30-year-old accumulated 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
He then captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and finished with 288 runs in 10 games, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
“Yes, he’s going through a tough phase, but he’s still Pakistan’s best batsman. Remember, he led the team with pride for five years. Form comes and goes, but class stays forever,” Akmal said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Following PSL 10, Pakistan went up against Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, but Azam was not included in the team.
The men in green won the series 3-0.
Azam also hasn’t been selected for Pakistan’s upcoming tour of Bangladesh, which will consist of three T20Is that will be played from July 20 to 24 in Mirpur.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza and Sufiyan Muqeem
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