Yasir Arafat: “Babar Azam has all the ingredients to perform again”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Yasir Arafat hasn’t given up on batsman Babar Azam, saying he “has all the ingredients” needed to start scoring lots of runs again.
Azam’s form has been a huge concern for many months as he hasn’t been able to make big scores on a regular basis.
As one of Pakistan’s frontline batsman, the pressure is constantly on him to deliver.
Arafat made it clear that the 31-year-old isn’t past his prime as he is more than capable of getting back to the level he once was at.
“Babar Azam has all the ingredients to perform again,” he told PakPassion.
Azam recently featured in Pakistan’s home series against South Africa and began by scoring 131 runs in two Tests, which included a top score of 50, at an average of 32.75.
He then proceeded to make 79 runs in three T20Is, which included a top score of 68, at an average of 39.50 and a strike-rate of 117.91.
Three ODIs followed, but the Lahore native could only muster 45 runs at an average of 15.
Azam was then in action in Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka and made 165 runs, which included his first hundred since August 2023, at an average of 82.50.
Pakistan will now go up against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in a T20I tri-series from November 18 to 29.
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq
Reserves: Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem
[TS_Poll id=”149″]