Tag: Babar Azam

LAHORE: In a befitting response, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has answered the unnecessary criticism aimed at him regarding his strike rate in the T20 format, first with his actions followed by his words. 

Babar smashed a phenomenal ton during Pakistan’s 38-run victory in the second T20 international against New Zealand on Saturday in Lahore.

He scored 101 runs from 58 balls, marking his third century in the shortest format, to help his side take a 2-0 lead in the five-game series.

Pakistan’s captain reached the three-digit mark on the final delivery of Pakistan’s inning and after reaching his century he celebrated the feat in a passionate manner.

In a post-match interview, Babar was asked by the presenter Zainab Abbas whether his animated celebration was aimed at the ‘strike-rate brigade’ who unnecessarily criticise him.

“You can say so,” quipped Babar with a hearty laugh on his face.

“But I don’t keep these types of things in my mind. I play according to the situation and build my innings according to the team’s requirement,” he added.

Pakistan skipper reiterated that for him, winning matches for the country was far more important than personal milestones.

“I’m not too worried about personal milestones. I’m focused on performing in a way that I can help my team win. The team comes first and then milestones,” he said.

“But from an individual perspective, you can say this was a special hundred.”

It may be noted here that the right-hander smacked 11 boundaries and three sixes during his blistering knock to steer Pakistan to a massive 192-run total.

New Zealand in reply, could only amass 154/7 in their quota of 20 overs thanks to Haris Rauf’s consecutive four-for in two matches.

The Green Shirts next play the tourists on April 17 at the same venue before the final two matches in Rawalpindi on April 20 and 24.

READ: PAK v NZ: Imad rates Babar’s knock ‘top of the line’

LAHORE: All-rounder Imad Wasim heaped praise on captain Babar Azam after the latter smashed a phenomenal ton during Pakistan’s 38-run victory in the second T20 international against New Zealand on Saturday in Lahore.

Babar scored 101 runs from 58 balls, marking his third century in the shortest format, to help his side take a 2-0 lead in the five-game series.

In a post-match interview with Babar Azam, Imad called the right-hander ‘the best player in the world’ right now.

“I have seen many innings but this was at the top of the line in my opinion, especially the way he [Babar] carried on after we lost three wickets. The wicket was holding as well. But the way he played was simply brilliant.” he said,

“There’s no doubt that he’s the best player in the world,” he remarked

Meanwhile, centurion Babar attributed the positive mindset as a key factor for his consistency with the bat.

“I try to improve my game day-by-day and play according to the situation,” said Pakistan skipper

“We were on a comfortable stage at the first 10 overs but I have to hold a little bit after back-to-back wickets”

“However, after playing one good over we got the momentum and I felt that we can score 190 or even 200 from there onward,” he said without mentioning any particular over as Pakistan scored overall 46 runs in the last four overs to reach a massive 192-run total.

New Zealand in reply, could only amass 154/7 in their quota of 20 overs thanks to Haris Rauf’s consecutive four-for in two matches.

Pakistan next play the tourists on April 17 at the same venue before the final two matches in Rawalpindi on April 20 and 24.

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LAHORE: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam is all set to play his 100th T20I match today as Pakistan will take on New Zealand in the first T20I here at Gaddafi Stadium.

Babar, who is poised to lead Pakistan against New Zealand in the first T20I of the five-match series here tonight, will complete his T20I matches century.

Having made his T20I debut against England in 2016, Babar soon became a crucial part of the national team in the shortest format.

His consistent performances in T20Is propelled him to dethrone India’s star batter Virat Kohli as the top-ranked batter in 2018 and continued to rule the format for the longest period (1155 days).

Following the ouster of former all-format captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Babar was initially given the reins of Pakistan’s T20I side.

Under his captaincy, Pakistan played the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 and the finals of the Asia Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup 2022.

In 99 T20Is, Babar has thus far scored 3355 runs – the most for Pakistan – at an average of 41.41. He has scored 30 fifties and two hundred amid his decorated career so far.

The first T20I against New Zealand today will mark Babar’s return to the national side for the shortest format as the star batter was given rest for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.

READ: Babar Azam completes two years as top-ranked ODI batter

KARACHI: Pakistan’s all-format captain and star batter Babar Azam has completed two years as the top-ranked ODI batter, today on April 14th 2023.

Following his sensational performance in Pakistan’s famous series win against South Africa in April 2021, scoring 228 runs including a century in the first ODI. The right-handed batter surpassed his then Indian counterpart, Virat Kohli by eight rating points; securing his career-best 865 points.

With his surge to the top spot, Babar ended Virat’s 41-month reign as the top ODI batter, who replaced South Africa’s AB de Villiers in October 2017.

After dethroning Kohli, became just the fourth Pakistan batsman to attain the top ODI ranking after Zaheer Abbas (1983-84), Javed Miandad (1988-89), and Mohammad Yousuf (2003).

Babar has played 15 ODIs since claiming the top spot in the ODI batting rankings and has scored 1005 runs at an astonishing average of 71.78 with the help of four centuries and seven half-centuries.

His scintillating run in the format, powered him to claim the prestigious ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year and was also named in the ODI Team of the Year.

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LAHORE: Pakistan captain Babar Azam opened up regarding the future of the long-persisted opening pair of him and Mohammad Rizwan, stated that he is not willing to make experiments despite the availability of young top-order batters.

In a pre-series press conference here on Thursday, Babar responded to a question about whether Pakistan will try a new opening pair in the T20I series against New Zealand and shared that there is no such plan to make experiments and the opening pair of him and Rizwan will continue to open the innings for Pakistan in the shortest format.

“There is no such thing that we are going to make experiments. We will continue with my and Rizwan’s opening pair and we will analyze which player is suitable for which particular position and then announce the Playing XI after this practice session,” said Babar.

Pakistan’s captain also commented on Pakistan’s bowling attack and stated that the inclusion of young pacers Ihsanullah and Zaman Khan has further strengthened the attack and shared that the planning is underway to fully utilize the young speedsters.

“Look, the way these two youngsters [Ihsanullah and Zaman Khan] performed in PSL and after that against Afghanistan was outstanding and they got a call-up on the basis of that and because of that our bowling strength bolstered even more,” stated Babar.

“Definitely, we are planning to utilize and establish them because, I said earlier, that we need to test our bench strength and give chances to the youngsters to analyze how we can improve further,” he maintained.

Babar then went on to assert that the national team has the ability to clean sweep the inexperienced New Zealand side, banking on the services of senior and junior players.

READ: Trophy unveiled as Pakistan-New Zealand T20I series begins tomorrow 

DUBAI: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has improved his standing on the T20I batters’ list after the latest ICC rankings update on Wednesday.

Babar jumped a spot to third on the charts after New Zealand Devon Conway’s absence from New Zealand’s series against Sri Lanka led to a slump in his rankings.

Kiwi batter dropped two places to fifth on the latest set of rankings with South Africa’s Aiden Markram taking fourth place.

No.1-ranked Suryakumar Yadav and second-placed Mohammad Rizwan, however, retained their positions on the table.

Babar and his opening partner in the shortest format, Rizwan, have an opportunity to close in on the Indian star as the duo will be in action when Pakistan commence their five-matches home T20I series against New Zealand on Saturday.

“While Suryakumar currently holds a commanding lead at the top of the T20I rankings for batters with 906 rating points, second-placed Rizwan (811) and third-placed Babar (755) could make gains while the India star is plying his trade in the IPL,” said ICC in a media release.

Meanwhile, on the bowler rankings, Maheesh Theekshana moved up to fifth on the list while his teammate Wanindu Hasaranga dropped two places to fourth. thanks to their contrasting performances in the recent T20I series against hosts New Zealand.

As a result of Hasaranga’s ranking dip, Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi (second) and Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood (third) both climbed a spot.

it is worth mentioning here that Afghanistan now hold the top two spots on the T20I bowlers’ charts as spinner Rashid Khan leads Fazal Haq Farooqi in a close contest for top billing.

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Former New Zealand cricketer and renowned commentator Simon Doull criticised India’s star batter Virat Kohli for slowing down to reach his personal milestone during the Indian Premier League (IPL) fixture.

Kohli played a flamboyant half-century knock amid his side’s fixture against Lucknow Super Giants and propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore to a massive total of 212/2.

His magnificent knock, however, failed to impress Kiwi commentator Doull, who accused the former of slowing down to reach his half-century after a flying start.

“Kohli started off like a train, he was going hammer and tongs, playing a lot of shots,” stated Doull during commentary.

“From 42 to 50, he took 10 balls. Concerned about a milestone. I don’t think there’s room for that in this game anymore. You’ve just got to keep going especially with wickets in hand at that stage. You’ve got to keep going,” he added.

https://twitter.com/HaseebarslanUK/status/1645462221915561985

 

Earlier, during the recently-held eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Doull passed alike remarks for Babar Azam and asserted that Peshawar Zalmi’s captain slowed down to reach his maiden PSL century.

“Rather than putting the team first… the last little while, that’s all that been happening. Rather than looking for boundaries, still, so much firepower to come. Hundreds are brilliant, stats are great, but it has to be team first,” Doull said.

The Kiwi commentator has been in hot water since then and received major backlash from Babar’s fans.

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LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee Najam Sethi on Monday, put the uncertainty surrounding Babar Azam’s future as the Pakistan captain to rest.

Taking to Twitter, PCB management committee chair Sethi clarified the cricket board’s stance on continuing with Babar as the all-format captain and urged the media and cricketing circles to support the right-handed batter in interests of the national team.

“For months media and cricketing circles have been discussing pros and cons of retaining Babar Azam as captain in all formats of the game. Since this decision is ultimately Chairman’s, I have sought views of Selection Committees headed by Shahid Afridi and now Haroon Rashid.

1/3 For months media and cricketing circles have been discussing pros and cons of retaining Babar Azam as captain in all formats of the game. Since this decision is ultimately Chairman’s, I have sought views of Selection Committees headed by Shahid Afridi and now Haroon Rashid.

— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) April 10, 2023

 

“Both Committees thought matter merited discussion but both later came to the conclusion that the status quo should be retained. I have subsequently publicly stated this position. In the final analysis my decision will be subject to the success or failure of status quo.

“I will also be guided by what the Selectors and Director Cricket Ops and Head Coach have to say going forward. I expect they will be in the best position to advise me. Therefore we should support Babar and not make matter controversial in interests of national team.

It is apropos to mention that rumours were surfacing on the internet regarding Babar’s captaincy being in jeopardy after he, alongside some senior players, was rested for the recently-held T20I series against Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Sethi, who held a press conference alongside chief selector Haroon Rasheed at Gaddafi Stadium here last month, refuted the rumours surfacing regarding a change in the team’s leadership and categorically stated that Babar will remain the national team’s all-format captain as long as he is willing to keep the role.

“There is no threat to our established captain Babar Azam. He remains the national captain of our Pakistan squad,” clarified Sethi.

“Whenever Babar tells me that he wants to relinquish the role in one format or in all formats, it is going to be his decision. I respect him a lot. He’s our top star and I’m glad that he supported our initiative,” he maintained.

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Pakistan captain Babar Azam has sent well wishes for the quick recovery of New Zealand ODI skipper Kane Williamson after he injured his knee during an IPL match last week. 

“Bounce back stronger. Get well soon Kane Williamson,” wrote Babar in a Twitter post n which he also shared an on-field photo with his New Zealand counterpart.

Bounce back stronger. Get well soon Kane Williamson pic.twitter.com/XSkMa70qXO

— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) April 6, 2023

Due to the injury, the Black Caps captain is likely to miss the ICC Cricket World Cup in India later this year as he will undergo knee surgery within the next three weeks after he was found to rupture the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee.

Typically, the injury takes around six-month rehabilitation, which means the BlackCaps captain will be in a tight spot ahead of the megaevent in terms of proving his fitness.

“Naturally it’s disappointing to get such an injury, but my focus now is on having the surgery and starting rehab,” he said.

“It’s going to take some time, but I’ll be doing everything I can to get back on the field as soon as possible.”

Williamson had landed awkwardly in the opening match of the Indian Premier League between Gujrat Titans and Chennai Super Kings. The injury ruled him out of Gujrat Titans for the entire IPL season this year.

However, the 32-year-old’s absence would be a major blow for his national side. The right-hander has scored more than 6000 ODI runs at an average of 47.83 in 161 ODI matches.

Under his captaincy, New Zealand finished as runner-up in the last edition of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup in 2019. They lost to England in the epic final that went down to Super Over with the host eventually lifting the trophy on boundary count.

READ: New Zealand series-bound players to start to report at NCA today

 

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed once again came out in support of the current all-format captain Babar Azam and supported him as an opener in T20s.

Sarfaraz, while speaking to ARY Digital’s Ramadan Transmission Shan-e-Ramazan, rated Babar as the top batter in T20s and also supported his batting position in the shortest format.

“Babar is a top batter in the T20 format and there must be no doubt about his abilities,” said Sarfaraz.

“Even in my captaincy, I will let him play as an opener. Babar is a player who can anchor innings if he gets support from the other end. With him being an opener, any team can achieve a good total,” he added.

Babar has been the most consistent batter for Pakistan in all formats but the right-handed batter often faced criticism for his strike rate and several former cricketers and fans demanded his demotion in the batting order.

Earlier this week, Sarfaraz also backed Babar as Pakistan’s captain and claimed that he is improving with time.

“There is always room for improvement. Babar is getting better as a captain. He has started doing good and I hope will keep on getting better,” said Sarfaraz.

“In Pakistan, making a mistake is a sin. I know Babar makes mistakes but give him some time. It takes time to become a captain and build a team. We need to be patient and support Babar as he is our captain.

“Gradually, Babar will learn from his mistakes if he continues as a captain in the future. I have played under him recently, and I have seen improvement in his captaincy. He will do good for Pakistan.”

Sarfaraz is considered as one of the most successful Pakistani captains. He is the only Pakistani captain two have won two ICC trophies — the Champions Trophy and U19 World Cup, also shared a piece of advice for his successor Babar, stating that he needs to improve communication with his players.

“My suggestion to him is that he needs to improve communication with his players. Good communication will make his players confident and it will produce big results,” he concluded.

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