LAHORE: After Pakistan’s 23-run loss to England in the second T20I, former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja said Babar Azam’s side needed to improve in several areas.
Babar and Co. dismissed for 160, chasing a target of 184. It was England’s eighth win against Pakistan in the last 11 T20Is.
Speaking on his YouTube channel after the match, Raja said that Pakistan should bring back the opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam and that Saim Ayub is still “not drunk”.
“First Saim Ayoub came as an opener. I don’t think Pakistan should continue with Saim. He has been given a lot of chances and you have to do better in [international] cricket. He is not drunk. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam should come back to the opening pair because this is Pakistan’s strength and they understand each other’s game. The whole combination is a mess because of Saim.”
Shaheen also spoke about Afridi’s astonishing spell with the ball and urged Azam Khan to develop his variation before saying he needs to increase his pace as he can be easily analyzed by his opponents.
“Secondly, the bowling of Shaheen Shah Afridi. See if the ball is not swollen and full length, it is washed. He needs to change pace with the long ball, especially when he doesn’t get off the pitch much. “He didn’t take a good shot today with the new ball and [England] came off the pressure,” he said.
“Then, Azam Khan’s movement is difficult. With teams, big teams will analyze him, use short balls against him and get out of his comfort zone. Strike rate against spin is very good, but not against speed.
When he is about to dive, he starts hitting like the slogan of number 5. That’s when you need to build partnerships and go deeper into the game with the wicket in hand,” he said.
