Ramiz Raja: “Babar Azam does not need to prove anything to anyone. It’s a great chance for Babar here to show the world how good he is by scoring runs under pressure in South Africa”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has made it clear that Babar Azam “does not need to prove anything to anyone”, but conceded that it would be great to see him score big runs in the 2nd Test against South Africa in Cape Town.
Mohammad Rizwan: “Just as you’ve made a name for yourself by scoring runs in domestic cricket, now make a name for Pakistan by scoring runs here”
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Pakistan white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan wants middle order batsman Kamran Ghulam to make a name for himself in international cricket.
Salman Butt: “Now the problem is that Babar has scored so much, then he is the only one who scores most of the runs for Pakistan. There is no one with him who can match him”
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Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt said batsman Babar Azam faces intense criticism as “there is no one with him who can match him”.
Kamran Akmal: “Had Rizwan not scored a 50 and kept the scoreboard ticking, you would have lost by an innings. This is such a humiliating defeat that it will not be forgotten”
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Former cricketer Kamran Akmal believes wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan was the one saving grace for Pakistan in the first Test against Bangladesh as he saved them from losing by an innings.
Wasim Akram: “I suggested Babar Azam [a] few years back not to become captain of any franchise in T20 leagues. He should bat and enjoy his cricket”
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Legendary Pakistan left-arm seamer Wasim Akram recalled telling Babar Azam “not to become captain of any franchise in T20 leagues”.
Kamran Akmal: “His (Babar’s) main job is to play cricket and he is remarkable in it”
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Kamran Akmal, the former wicketkeeper-batsman, said Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam is a “remarkable” batsman.
Ahmed Shehzad: “You have hallucinated people by scoring runs against B, C and D teams”
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Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad said limited overs captain Babar Azam has fooled people into thinking he is an elite cricketer as he only scores runs against “B, C and D teams”.
Misbah-ul-Haq: “Once he starts to play attacking shots right from the beginning, then he easily gets out. If you look at his stats, he has quite a low average when he hits straight away from the first ball”
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Misbah-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain, said top order batsman Fakhar Zaman needs some time to get going as he has a tendency to get out early if he starts playing big shots right from ball one.
Sahibzada Farhan: “I always love to see him (Shehzad) scoring runs, it is a coincidence that whenever he scores, I also [manage to] score there. It is always a competition when people in the same slot as you are also among [the] runs, a professional rivalry is a good thing”
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Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan said he and Ahmed Shehzad have a “professional rivalry” as both of them are scoring plenty of runs right now.
Wasim Akram: “Babar Azam has to learn how to focus as a batter and score runs, leaving the captaincy baggage behind. It is easier said than done”
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Legendary Pakistan left-arm pace bowler Wasim Akram has urged batsman Babar Azam to leave “the captaincy baggage behind” and focus on scoring runs.
