Published: Oct 13, 2022, 08:24 AM (IST)
Edited: Oct 13, 2022, 08:30 AM (IST)
Christchurch: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is disappointed with Babar Azam’s defensive mindset and has said that the Pakistan captain needs to think big if he wants to lead Pakistan to a win in T20 World Cup. Afridi was upset by Babar’s remarks ahead of Pakistan’s clash against Bangladesh in the ongoing tri-series where he said that Pakistan will be looking to set a target of around 160 against Bangladesh.
“Babar must come out of this average mindset and think big. If scoring 160 runs for the target against Bangladesh was his big intent, then what is he going to do against stronger teams,” said Afridi as quoted by India Today.
Shahid Afridi also opened up on Mohammad Rizwan’s sensational form and said he doesn’t need to listen to anyone at this point. Rizwan has been in staggering form of late. The No. 1 T20I batter has single-handedly carried the team on his shoulders, especially with Babar Azam not in the best of form. However, there have been debates about his low strike-rate which has put pressure on the middle order. However, Afridi wants Rizwan to ignore such talks and focus on his game.
“The actual thing is the beginning. Babar and Rizwan should score the chunk of runs [for other batters]. Rizwan shouldn’t listen to anyone,” Afridi added.
Pakistan batting has been over-reliant on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan and any given day the du0 fails to perform, Pakistan have found themselves in trouble as there has been no significant contribution from the middle-order batters. This is something that can hurt Pakistan in a major event like a T20 World Cup.
