Saeed Ajmal: “If Virat Kohli can play for two years without performing, why can’t Babar? We should respect our player, he is our superstar. Don’t change his technique, let him play the way he has been playing”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has questioned why a star player like Babar Azam can’t stay in the team for two years without performing.
He noted that if Virat Kohli can do it for India, then Pakistan should be backing their main batsman too as he has delivered numerous match-winning performances across all three formats.
Lately, Azam hasn’t been picked in the T20I team, with many attributing it to his poor strike-rate when batting.
With the 30-year-old’s critics calling on him to play a more aggressive brand of cricket, Ajmal urged the Lahore native not to change his technique and keep playing the same way he always has been as it has brought him immense success in the past.
“If Virat Kohli can play for two years without performing, why can’t Babar? We should respect our player, he is our superstar. Don’t change his technique, let him play the way he has been playing,” Ajmal was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam was not selected for Pakistan’s T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, the T20I tour of Bangladesh, the T20I series against the West Indies, and the T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan.
The only series he has played in recently was the three ODIs between Pakistan and the West Indies, where he made 56 runs at an average of 18.66.
Pakistan are now taking part in the 2025 Asia Cup in the UAE, which Azam wasn’t picked for either.
The men in green beat Oman and the UAE in the group stage, but lost to India as well.
They still managed to make it through to the Super Four, but started their journey on a low as India hammered them by six wickets.
Pakistan’s next match will be against Sri Lanka on September 23 in Abu Dhabi.
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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