Pakistan are without two of their biggest names in the ongoing Asia Cup in Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. The pair aren’t out with an injury or rested though, they have lost their place in the team’s T20I squad and there seems to be no way back for now for either. It is an extraordinary fall for Babar and Rizwan, who were both the faces of the team across formats not too long ago. Former Pakistan batter Mohsin Khan believes that Babar remains a great batter but he needs to have better support from the rest of the batting lineup, the way India great Virat Kohli had over the course of his glittering career.
“Babar isn’t a bad batter,” Mohsin is quoted as saying by PTI. “But you need a clutch of quality players around him to support him. Look at Virat Kohli — in Tests he had Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul. In ODIs he had Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. A great player is made even greater when surrounded by other strong players.”
Mohsin also said that the never-ending pressure on Babar and Rizwan won’t help the players. “If you are always put under pressure that you have to score centuries every time you step out, they are humans too — hence at times you aren’t able to play the game the team requires you to play,” he said.
“During our time there was Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, and later Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan. Teams are built on numbers — you need a group of players who are more or less of the same quality. Right now, there is a big gulf between Babar and the rest.”
The idea was to move on from Babar and Rizwan, says Wasim Akram
Pakistan fast bowling great Wasim Akram has said that the side is doing well so far without Babar and Rizwan. “I think this team is doing OK. They have given enough chances to Babar and Rizwan as openers for 4 or 5 years. They did well, but not as well, not as consistently, and hence the new boys,” Wasim Akram said, speaking on Sony Sports.
“Babar is not there, Rizwan is not there. I think the idea was to move on from them, to go to these youngsters. They’ve done well, haven’t been consistent, but at least they have the right mindset. They don’t have a fear of losing. When you have a fear of losing, you buckle under pressure. So these guys, they might lose, but I think Salman Agha is a good captain,” he added.
