While the pressure continues to mount on him, Salman Butt has backed Babar Azam.© AFP
Pakistan captain Babar Azam had to bear the brunt of the fans, as well as several current and former cricketers, after the team failed to win a single Test on home soil in 2022. While his captaincy credentials have often been criticised, Sarfaraz Ahmed’s resurgence with the bat haven’t really worked in Babar’s favour either. Sarfaraz, who made his comeback to the Test side for the recently concluded two-match series against New Zealand, scored a century in the second innings of the second Test.
While the pressure continues to mount on him, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt backed Babar Azam, saying that the star batter is a bit “shy”.
“I think he (Babar) is a bit shy. He is not ready to speak up. Otherwise, this is not a million dollar question which cannot be answered. Sarfaraz made an excellent comeback and everyone praised him. But, his performances in domestic circuit over the past four seasons weren’t that great. But, he made an exceptional comeback. He has got experience, hunger and he got that chance and performed,” Butt said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
Many believe that Sarfaraz has pushed star wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan behind in the pecking order, as far as the Test team is concern, following his exploits.
Butt also threw his weight behind Rizwan, highlighting his performances in white-ball cricket over the past few years.
“But when he was out of the team, Rizwan was exceptional. He scored the most number of runs in T20Is in the last two years, and was the number one batter for a while. In terms of keeping, Rizwan is miles ahead of any Pakistan keeper, including Sarfaraz,” he added.
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