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The year 2023 ended in disappointing fashion for the Pakistan men’s team. After a World Cup campaign in which some patchy cricket sent home at the group stage, a whole host of changes were rung in at the board and team level.
In their first assignment after the tournament, new red-ball captain Shan Masood led the team on their tour of Australia, which ended in a 3-0 whitewash. The team will be looking to put these memories behind them as they take on New Zealand in a five-match T20I series starting on Friday, January 12.
‘Babar Azam is Pakistan’s best player’ – Shaheen Shah Afridi backs star batter
Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi had been appointed as the new captain in the T20 format after the World Cup, and spoke during a press-match press conference ahead of the New Zealand series. When asked about the recent poor form of star batter Babar Azam, Shaheen said,
This is what is being said about Babar Azam, that his form is bad or something like that…but he is the best. For Pakistan, he has made so many runs that I can’t even count. One or two poor innings don’t make any difference to me. He is a great player and for Pakistan, as a captain, as a player he has performed many times. Babar Azam is Pakistan’s best player.
Despite scoring 320 runs in the World Cup, Babar did not seem at his best, and his form has suffered since then, with just 126 runs in 6 innings in the Test tour of Australia.
Shaheen was also asked about the Pakistan squad for the New Zealand tour, and whether there were plans to try out a new opening combination, moving away from the pair of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan. The captain denied those rumours, saying, “Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan is our best opening combination.”
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