Former Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim has come out in support of Babar Azam amid a dip in his form.
The star Pakistan batter received backlash over his poor outing in the tri-nation series involving New Zealand and South Africa and the following Champions Trophy 2025.
The former Pakistan captain was made to open the inning in the absence of opening batter Saim Ayub, however, he could not perform for the national side in his new position.
Subsequently, Babar Azam was dropped from the T20I squad alongside Mohammad Rizwan for the ongoing New Zealand series.
Amid the criticism on his batting performance, former Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim has slammed the decision to promote the former Pakistan captain up the order.
Wasim also criticised those calling for dropping Babar Azam from the ODI squad, saying that his stats in the 50-over format were unmatched in the country.
Read more: Saeed Ajmal reacts to Babar’s exclusion from Pakistan T20I squad
“People want the exclusion of Babar Azam from ODIs as well. Nobody achieved what Babar has in ODI cricket so far. You had one player who could play 40 overs and was doing great in ODIs,” Imad Wasim said in an interview with a private TV channel.
The former all-rounder also lamented the decision to make Babar Azam open the inning, instead of bringing in a proper opener in the Champions Trophy 2025.
“Why would you make him open all of a sudden? Don’t we have any other opener in the whole country? Sometimes, I fail to understand the logic behind some of our decisions. We are not moving in the right direction, I would say we are going backwards,” Imad Wasim said.
