'Abdullah Shafique was playing aggressive cricket till Babar Azam walked in'
- By Web Desk -
- Oct 24, 2023
Former cricketer Abdul Razzaq has made startling remarks about Pakistan captain Babar Azam and opening batter Abdullah Shafique following the Green Shirts’ historic defeat to Afghanistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 fixture at Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium on Monday.
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Afghanistan registered their first ODI victory over Pakistan when they upset the Green Shirts by eight wickets.
Babar Azam, who has come under criticism over his performance and leadership skills, led from the front as his half-century helped the side put on a competitive total of 282-7 in the World Cup 2023 fixture.
He struck four boundaries and a six on his way to a 92-ball 74. He put on a 52-run partnership with opener Abdullah Shafique (58 off 75).
Vice Captain Shadab Khan and batting all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed chipped in with handy knocks of 40 each.
Afghanistan completed the run chase in 49 overs thanks to fifties by Ibrahim Zadran (87), Rahmat Shah (77) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65).
Abdul Razzaq, considered to be one of the country’s greatest all-rounders, shared an inside story about Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique’s partnership at a private channel’s show. Following the defeat, he accused the Pakistan skipper on influencing the opening batter’s batting style.
“When Abdullah Shafique was playing he was aggressive but when Babar came in to bat, he was stopping his shots, which means he got guidelines to not hit the shot,” Abdul Razzaq claimed. “He tried to stop the ball or play a half-hearted shot. The ball he got out on was not a wicket-taking ball, it seemed like he did not know how to play.
“This means that whenever the captain is on the crease the strike rate of other players is 78 to 80. It means that he was told to play like that.”
Related – ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Imad Wasim shares a ‘fact’ about Babar Azam after Australia loss
The former all-rounder lamented that Pakistan scoring 270 is not sufficient against teams and the side should have targeted 350 on the scoreboard.
“This is not cricket. You are scoring 270 against such teams, target should be around 350. This should have been your approach. They say Babar doesn’t know captaincy then what are the people in management doing? They should help him out. What are they writing stats,” he said.