"He has shown aggression in his batting" - Mushtaq Ahmed defends Pakistan captain Babar Azam after T20 World Cup debacle
Former Pakistan cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed has come out in defense of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam after the Men in Green had a poor campaign at the T20 World Cup 2024. Pakistan were eliminated in the group stage as they lost to the USA and India and didn't make it to the Super 8 phase.
Several former cricketers and cricket experts have slammed Babar Azam for his captaincy as well as his contribution with the bat. Some even suggested that the Pakistan captain needed to go back to domestic cricket to prove his worth.
However, Mushtaq Ahmed claimed that Babar Azam had shown signs of aggression in his approach of late. He told Cricket Pakistan:
"Babar's intent has definitely changed in the past year. He has shown aggression in his batting. If a person can improve so much, I think that's enough. Other players also have a duty to score runs; they have a role to play too."
Babar topped the run-scoring charts in the T20 World Cup for Pakistan with 122 runs from four games at an average of 40.66. However, he could only maintain a strike rate of 101.66.
Mushtaq Ahmed wants other batters to support Babar Azam's contributions
Mushtaq Ahmed further claimed that Babar Azam had been doing the bulk of the run-scoring for Pakistan. He feels others contribute with runs only at inconsequential times.
Expecting more respect for Babar from the cricketing fraternity and former cricketer, Mushtaq stated:
"If one person gives you a score but the rest of our players don't go on to score in the remaining 7-8 overs, then there's a problem. This has been happening for 3-4 years. They (other players except Babar) only score when it doesn't make a significant impact.
"If we talk about Babar, there's a reason why people respect him worldwide. He brings honor to Pakistan. I think sometimes people are very hard on him."
Babar told the reporters after the T20 World Cup debacle that the PCB decided to reinstate him as captain. Only time will tell whether PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi will take radical measures to bring changes in the Pakistan leadership group.