Aamer Sohail: “He needs to spend time out in the middle and bat like Saud Shakeel. He should take some deliveries to settle down”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail wants Babar Azam to take a leaf out of Saud Shakeel’s book when it comes to occupying the crease and constructing an innings in Test cricket.
Aamer feels Azam is too impatient and needs to “take some deliveries to settle down” before looking to score runs.
His comments come at a time when the 31-year-old is slowly starting to recover some form after going through a rough patch that has lasted for many months.
“He needs to spend time out in the middle and bat like Saud Shakeel. He should take some deliveries to settle down,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
During Pakistan’s two-Test series against South Africa, Azam amassed 131 runs, which included a top score of 50, at an average of 32.75.
As for Shakeel, he finished with 115 runs, which included a top score of 66, at an average of 28.75.
Following the two Tests, Pakistan defeated South Africa 2-1 in both the T20Is and ODIs.
They then proceeded to whitewash Sri Lanka 3-0 in an ODI series, during which Azam scored his first international century since August 2023.
Most recently, Azam was in action in Pakistan’s T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, and accumulated 127 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 74, at an average of 31.75 and a strike-rate of 112.38.