Pakistan T20I captain Salman Ali Agha offered a big statement of support for the team’s star batter, Babar Azam, who ended a string of low scores with a 47-ball 68 against South Africa in the third T20I at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. He said Babar’s work ethic was the best he has seen in international cricket, adding that the right-hander understands he needs to add more layers to his game to survive in the format.
Babar is no longer a sure-shot selection in Pakistan’s white-ball sides, after months without any consistency or even the occasional big score. However, on Sunday, he showed that his skills are still remarkably efficient for low-scoring T20Is, as he hit nine boundaries and rotated the strike excellently to help Pakistan chase 140
in 19 overs. Agha and he enjoyed the biggest partnership of the chase, 76 (51).
“You may all be fans of his batting, but I’m a fan of Babar’s work ethic,” the skipper said after the match, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “The way he prepares, I have not seen anyone prepare as well as he does in international cricket. Whether he’s performing or not, his preparation is always spot on.”
“He knows he needs to bring new things into his game. That sweep shot, which you do not normally associate with him, got him a number of runs today. He understands this stuff because he’s such a big player, and he recognizes he needs to take things to the next level. I really hope we see this kind of Babar in future, because if he performs, we’ll definitely win matches. That’s a good sign for us… We’re all delighted for Babar. The whole country is. In big games, big players step up. He did that today, and I really hope he continues along this vein and we see this Babar perform in the next four or five years,” he added.
The number three spot also seemed to suit Babar in this team, which is trying to be more aggressive. However, Pakistan would still love to see him have a similar impact on flatter tracks.
Salman Agha hits back at Pakistani ‘narrative’
Agha also countered the ‘narrative’ that his team wasn’t performing well by quoting their recent winning ratio.
“There’s a narrative that this team is not performing well. We only lost the away Bangladesh series in the last few months and the Asia Cup final. The narrative is this team’s performance isn’t great, but if you talk factually, our performances have been great, and our winning ratio is 70%. That’s the winning ratio of the best teams in the world,” he said.
