The cricketing affairs in Pakistan have gone from bad to worse over the last couple of years. Changes in leadership, management, coaches and even selectors haven’t shown any signs of progression. In fact, the musical chairs system in Pakistan cricket has destabilised the careers of many, including the country’s biggest cricketing talent Babar Azam. Over the last couple of years, Babar’s form has hit rock-bottom and the player has twice been stripped of captaincy responsibilities too. Even after Pakistan’s early Champions Trophy exit, Babar’s performances were singled out by many former stars.
Saeed Ajmal, one of Pakistan’s finest spinners of all time, ripped into former cricketers for ‘degrading’ Babar Azam, warning them if they continue to do so, no one will be left to run Pakistan’s cricket.
“Aapke paas ek hi toh star hai (You have only one star). If you degrade him also, then how will your cricket run? These are the big issues. Our former cricketers should keep their mouths shut,” Ajmal remarked.
“As a cricketer, one must realise that bad patches are part of a player’s career. You can’t play cricket the same way all your life. Even if you were Sachin Tendulkar, you couldn’t score 100 runs in every match,” he added.
After Pakistan’s Champions Trophy humiliation, another knee-jerk reaction was witnessed from the board, where Mohammad Rizwan was removed as the team’s T20I skipper while he and Babar Azam were dropped.
“Look, the way you’ve removed them is wrong. It’s not like they are the only ones who haven’t scored while others have. That’s not the case. Ideally, the selectors should sit down with Babar and discuss rest so that he can come back stronger,” Ajmal stated.
“Babar and Rizwan are great players. Their stats are as good as anyone’s, but the only difference is that they don’t bat aggressively, but they still score runs. Our guys have suddenly realised that in international cricket, everyone plays aggressively.
“Come on, what aggression are we talking about? If they are your proven matchwinners, you don’t need aggression. Even legends like Virat often pace their innings slowly before attacking, that’s his style,” said Ajmal.
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