Pakistan head coach Saqlain Mushtaq dismissed concerns about captain Babar Azam’s form and found nothing wrong with opener Mohammad Rizwan’s batting approach after their loss to Sri Lanka in Sunday’s Asia Cup final in Dubai.
Watch ARY News live on live.arynews.tv
Babar, currently the second ranked Twenty20 (T20) batsman in the world behind team mate Rizwan, managed only 68 runs in six innings and his form would be a concern ahead of the 20-overs World Cup in Australia beginning next month.
Related – Asia Cup 2022: Virat Kohli lavishes praise on Babar Azam
“If someone looks at his batting, you’d just say he’s unlucky, especially the way he’s getting out,” Saqlain said after their 23-run defeat by Sri Lanka. “It’s just a patch. If you look at the rankings, he’s (among the) top in T20 International and in ODIs. It’s just been bad luck. The way he’s training and playing it’s amazing.
“His work ethic is top notch.”
View this post on Instagram
Babar’s opening partner Rizwan topscored for Pakistan with 55 off 49 balls in Sunday’s final but his traditional approach to batting appeared ill-suited for the 20-overs format.
“Every team and player have their own style and methods. It’s not compulsory that you do what the rest of the world is doing … His approach is not wrong,” the former test spinner Saqlain said.
Related – Mohammad Rizwan underwent scans after Pakistan-India Asia Cup match
Saqlain also dismissed suggestions of a left-right opening combination of Fakhar Zaman with either Babar or Rizwan.
“If you keep shuffling, it sends a message that you don’t trust them. You need to give them time. It’s not good to shuffle a lot. It sends a wrong message,” he said.
from ARY NEWS https://ift.tt/VXfNaY4
via IFTTT
