Sohail Tanvir: “Babar is a very skilled player, but the real question is – does he even want to change?”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan left-arm pace bowler Sohail Tanvir has doubts about whether Babar Azam wants to change in order to become a more effective T20I batsman.
Azam has been a consistent run-scorer in the shortest format, but has been chastised over and over again for his low strike-rate.
Tanvir acknowledged that the 30-year-old is “a very skilled player”, but remains unsure if he is willing to expand his range of shots and start playing a more aggressive brand of cricket.
“Babar is a very skilled player, but the real question is – does he even want to change?” the 40-year-old was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam was recently involved in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he captained the Peshawar Zalmi and amassed 288 runs in 10 games, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
Despite his solid campaign with the bat, he was not selected for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, which the men in green won 3-0.
Following this, Azam missed out on selection once again when Pakistan toured Bangladesh for a three-match T20I series in Mirpur, which they lost 2-1.
Next up for Pakistan will be a tour of the West Indies, where they will play three T20Is and three ODIs from August 1 to 12.
Azam was only picked for the ODI leg of the tour.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
Pakistan Squad for West Indies ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
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