Mohammad Hafeez said he feels sorry for Babar Azam when it comes to his form in the ICC events but feels the Pakistan skipper is the only one who can give an answer to the issue. It was another underwhelming campaign with the bat for Babar in an ICC event, despite having ruled the batting charts for a good period of time. Babar is currently No.3 in the T20I rankings and at the top when it comes to ODIs.
However, during the ODI World Cup last year, Babar was heavily criticised for his performance, as he scored 320 runs in 9 matches but his strike-rate was a big issue. The trend continued this year as well as the Pakistan skipper scored just 120 runs in 4 matches, but once again the strike-rate was just above 101. Speaking on PTV Sports, Hafeez said Babar’s form in ICC events is a big concern and wonders if it is down to his captaincy duties as well.
Hafeez feels only Babar can give an answer as to why there is a big dip in performance when it comes to ICC events.
“I feel sorry for Babar Azam. For a quality player like him, to have a major dip during ICC events is a big concern. And only Babar Azam can answer this. Is it because of his captaincy?”
“I want him to be the highest run-getter for Pakistan and he has that capacity. But when it comes to bilateral series, Babar is on top but in ICC event he is so low down. So this big dip in form is cause for concern and only Babar can answer it or maybe someone else,” said Hafeez.
Babar scored 32 off 34 balls to guide Pakistan home in the end against Ireland as they made a meal of an easy chase of 107 runs. While many fans criticised Babar yet again for his strike-rate, Hafeez felt it was the need of the hour and the Pakistan skipper ensured that he was there in the end to ensure the win was secured.
“The knock was very good against Ireland. Wickets were falling at the other end and as a senior pro, it’s your responsibility to stay till the end and see off the game.”
