Shahid Afridi: “I believe if strike-rate is the concern, then even the new players should be performing better. Babar had a similar strike-rate to them”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has questioned why batsman Babar Azam is constantly getting criticised when his strike-rate in T20Is is similar to those in the team right now.
Azam has been removed from the T20I squad, with many attributing it to his slow batting.
However, Afridi has come to the defence of the 31-year-old, noting the “new players should be performing better” if they were brought in to play a more aggressive brand of cricket.
“I believe if strike-rate is the concern, then even the new players should be performing better. Babar had a similar strike-rate to them,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam was overlooked by the selectors for Pakistan’s T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, the tour of Bangladesh, and the three T20Is against the West Indies.
He did play in the ODIs against the West Indies, making 56 runs in three games at an average of 18.66.
After that, he failed to make the cut for the T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan, which the men in green won.
He was also ignored for the 2025 Asia Cup, where the men in green reached the final before losing to India.
Azam is now in action in Pakistan’s Test series against South Africa.
In the ongoing 1st Test in Lahore, he made scores of 23 and 42.
Pakistan’s series against South Africa comprises two Tests, three T20Is, and three ODIs.
Pakistan squad for South Africa Test series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi