Former Test captain Azhar Ali pointed out flaws in Babar Azam’s captaincy while using Peshawar Zalmi bowling resources following Zalmi’s nervy 5-run win over Multan Sultans at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Friday.
The former Lahore Qalandars player said that Darren Sammy had previously led the Peshawar Zalmi side and his leadership skills were ruthless and emphatic in approach as he had also won the ICC T20I World Cup with the Windies twice in his career.
Azhar also expressed his concerns about the mold of bowlers Zalmi has picked during the draft of PSL 9 and expressed reservations on how Babar Azam could’ve used his bowling resources in a better way to put Zalmi in a stronger position in the standings.
The legendary Test player felt that the Zalmi skipper is not utilizing the strengths of his bowling unit to its maximum ability and to some extent, the franchise has compromised its bowling unit to maximize the batting prowess.
While talking on a local media talk show Azhar said, “If we look at their bowling unit, we don’t see any players that could change the course of the game in their favor. They have Salman Irshad whose strength seemingly lies in bowling yorkers at the death. They have an advantage there but Aamer Jamal has failed to make an impact. Luke Wood, who is a capable bowler, is not looking threatening. The first thing a team does, when they pick players and look to win the tournament, is cover their bowling department.”
“Batting will win you one or two games but bowling will win you the title,” Azhar said while pointing out the discrepancies in Zalmi’s bowling unit.
Peshawar Zalmi triumphed over Multan Sultans in a topsy-turvy match which went down to the wire and now sit 5th in the PSL standings with 2 points in 3 games.
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