Salman Butt: “Babar Azam 100% deserves a place in Pakistan’s T20 team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt wants batsman Babar Azam to stay in the T20I team, saying he “100% deserves a place” in the side.
Azam had been dropped from the squad earlier on, with many attributing it to his low strike-rate.
However, since making his T20I comeback during Pakistan’s home series against South Africa, the 31-year-old has been a solid performer in the shortest format.
Against the Proteas, Azam scored 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.
“Babar Azam 100% deserves a place in Pakistan’s T20 team. Can anyone name a player performing at his level. These current players keep getting out trying to hit sixes – they’re not scoring consistently. At least Babar Azam was making runs regularly,” Salman Butt was quoted as saying on Facebook.
After the South Africa series, which also included two Tests and three ODIs, Pakistan faced Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series, where Azam scored his first international century since August 2023.
The Lahore native then featured in Pakistan’s T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, where he amassed 127 runs in five games, which included a top score of 74, at an average of 31.75 and a strike-rate of 112.38.