Former cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed praised Pakistan’s white-ball captain, Babar Azam, for his aggressive approach in batting that he has displayed throughout the last year.
The 1992 World Cup winner, highlighted that the batting maestro of Pakistan has significantly changed his approach in recent years, which has positively impacted his performance.
Azam was recently reappointed as Pakistan’s white-ball skipper and led the team in the T20 World Cup 2024. Unfortunately, Pakistan faced an early exit after losing two crucial group-stage matches against the USA and arch-rivals India.
Despite the setback, Mushtaq noted that Babar Azam has shown transformation in his batting, saying, “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.”
However, Mushtaq emphasized that cricket is a team sport and other players must also contribute to the scoreboard. He expressed concerns over the team’s over-reliance on Babar, highlighting that while he sets a strong foundation, the other players often fail to capitalize in the remaining overs.
“Other players also have a duty to score runs; they have a role to play too. 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 the last 3-4 years. They only score when it doesn’t make a significant impact,” he added.
Mushtaq’s comments underscore the need for a collective effort from the entire team to achieve success, highlighting the importance of supporting the captain’s efforts with consistent performances from all players.