Babar Azam pictured throughout a observe session in Australia. — AFP/file
LAHORE: Newly-appointed head coach of Pakistan’s white-ball cricket crew Aqib Javed touched on star batter Babar Azam’s inclusion and place within the T20I crew.
The previous captain, who has been going by a tricky patch throughout all codecs of the sport, additionally had an unimpressive run within the latest three-match T20I sequence in opposition to Australia the place he solely scored 47 runs at a meagre common of 15.66 and strike-rate of 142.42.
Aqib whereas addressing the media in Lahore on Wednesday, was requested whether or not Babar can be thought-about for T20Is.
“Senior gamers like Babar and Rizwan have a price. They carried out over time for Pakistan,” he said.
Earlier, commenting on Babar’s woes in the aforementioned series, former cricketer Basit Ali had claimed that the third T20I against Australia was the batter’s last in the format, since Aqib — one of the most vocal critiques of star batter — had taken the reins of the white-ball side.
“As long as Aqib Javed is the head coach, this may be Babar Azam’s last T20 match,” Basit had said during a local TV programme.
“I am simply stating what is evident. You have a premium batsman averaging just 14 runs across three matches. What kind of batsman gets dismissed before the eighth over?” he had questioned.
However, Aqib in his address debunked Basit’s claim and highlighted Babar’s contributions to the team over the years and reiterated that “each individual has its personal opinion however our focus is to not goal any particular person”.
“Everyone saw Babar playing in the last three ODIs. I mean, look, when you become a coach or a selector, then it’s not about individual [preference]. Your goal is to improve Pakistan cricket,” the pinnacle coach added.
“No matter efforts we put in didn’t favour any particular person however Pakistan cricket as an entire. When you received the sequence in opposition to England it was received by Pakistan cricket,” Aqib said while addressing the media.
“So, our focus remains solely to try and improve the image and results of Pakistan cricket,” he concluded.
