Haris Rauf: “It’s the fans’ right to support Babar – he’s a world-class player”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf said fans have the right to support batsman Babar Azam as he is a “world-class player”.
Azam’s form has been a concern for quite some time as he has struggled to post big scores on a consistent basis.
However, he showed some signs of progress during the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) as he made 288 runs in 10 matches while captaining the Peshawar Zalmi at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
“It’s the fans’ right to support Babar – he’s a world-class player,” Rauf was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Following PSL 10, Azam was not picked for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, the T20I tour of Bangladesh and the T20I series against the West Indies.
However, he did feature in the ODI series against the West Indies and struck 56 runs in three matches at an average of 18.66.
Pakistan will now play a T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan in Sharjah, which will be held from August 29 to September 7.
Following this, they will take part in the 2025 Asia Cup, which will be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28.
Azam was not included in the team Pakistan announced for the T20I tri-series and the Asia Cup.
Pakistan squad for UAE T20I tri-series and 2025 Asia Cup: 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, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem
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