Faf du Plessis: “We know Babar as one of the world’s best players for a very long time. I think the game of T20 cricket has moved so fast forward into strike-rates that he’s found himself a little bit behind in terms of strike-rates”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has admitted that Pakistan batsman Babar Azam has “found himself a little behind” in the strike-rate department in T20Is.
Azam’s strike-rate has long been a talking point for critics, even when he was regularly scoring runs as an opener.
Du Plessis acknowledged that, with the demands of T20I cricket having evolved, the 31-year-old must catch up and increase his scoring rate.
“We know Babar as one of the world’s best players for a very long time. I think the game of T20 cricket has moved so fast forward into strike-rates that he’s found himself a little bit behind in terms of strike-rates,” he was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
Azam was recently reappointed as Test captain and is now leading Pakistan in their two-match series against the West Indies.
The men in green lost the 1st Test by 90 runs, during which Azam made scores of 23 and 58 not out.
The 2nd Test will take place in Trinidad and Tobago from August 2 to 6.
After that, the men in green will face England in a three-Test series from August 19 to September 13.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Pakistan Squad for England Test series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah