Babar Azam, Pakistan’s prolific batsman, expressed his discontent regarding his demotion to the one-down position in the national team’s batting order during a press briefing on Monday after Peshawar Zalmi’s narrow victory against Karachi Kings at the National Bank Arena.
Despite accumulating 498 runs and likely to surpass the five-hundred run mark this season with five fifties and a century to his name in 10 innings, Babar shared his thoughts on the decision to move him from the opening spot, stating, “I wasn’t under any pressure to score runs as an opener for Zalmi. I don’t take pressure in any situation. It was the Pakistan team’s demand at the time. I did that for Pakistan. If I was asked individually, I wasn’t satisfied with the decision to bat at one down position. However, I did that for Pakistan.”
Also Read: Babar Azam Sets Unwanted Record in PSL
Babar Azam has been playing in the one-down position since the New Zealand series, where he scored three consecutive fifties in the first three T20Is of the five-match away series.
Notably, Babar has significantly improved his strike rate, particularly during the powerplay overs, in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) since last season. In PSL Season 8, he recorded a strike rate of 155.26, while in PSL 9, his strike rate stands at 159.40. This improvement reflects his ability to exploit gaps during the powerplay with ease.
The decision to split the opening pair of Babar and Rizwan in T20Is came after the emergence of Saim Ayub, who has excelled in both domestic red-ball and white-ball cricket over the past year.
