Kris Srikkanth: “Captain Babar Azam. I don’t think he should play T20 cricket. Maybe a good Test cricketer. This is my opinion. Frankly speaking. You can’t do all these tuk-tuking all the time”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former India batsman Kris Srikkanth feels Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam shouldn’t play T20I cricket as he does too much “tuk-tuking”.
Srikkanth isn’t the first ex-player to criticise Azam for his slow batting in T20Is as many others have lambasted the 29-year-old for taking up too many deliveries and putting a lot of pressure on the middle order.
That said, it should be noted Azam is the second-highest run-scorer in T20I history with 4,145 runs in 123 matches, which includes three centuries and 36 fifties, at an average of 41.03 and a strike-rate of 129.08.
Nonetheless, Srikkanth reiterated his stance that Azam might not be suited for the shortest format.
“Captain Babar Azam. I don’t think he should play T20 cricket. Maybe a good Test cricketer. This is my opinion. Frankly speaking. You can’t do all these tuk-tuking all the time,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup and amassed 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
The men in green lost to the United States of America and India before bouncing back to take down Canada and Ireland.
Despite triumphing in those two games, Pakistan failed to advance to the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
MORE PAKISTAN CRICKET NEWS: Don’t waste your time, Harbhajan Singh wants Pakistan coach to take charge of India