Babar Azam’s struggle with form did not subside in the Pakistan ODI Tri-series, where he scored at an average of just 23.6. He also bagged a duck in the final, which is his first in ODIs this year.
Babar’s lean patch gets leaner
While Pakistan’s top order was middling at best overall, Babar’s form concerns remain one of the side’s significant problems. Previously, he made his comeback to the President’s Trophy, one of Pakistan’s three domestic first-class competitions, in a bid to work on his batting. However, he could only put in sorry figures for his side, OGDCL, scoring 58 runs across two games.
Pakistan’s ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi confirmed that Babar is set to play in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, another first-class competition in Pakistan, which begins on November 3.
“If you are talking about Babar, he knows his game very well. I believe he is set to play a first-class match in a couple of days against our team. He is well aware of his game plan and how he needs to approach his cricket. Unfortunately, he has had a few dismissals that did not go his way, but that is part and parcel of the game. I am confident he will bounce back,” Shaheen said.
Shaheen to play for FATA
The “our team” refers to FATA, for whom Shaheen will feature in the competition. He has had his own form issues to deal with, which saw him being dropped from Pakistan’s Test squads for the West Indies and England tours a few months ago.
“I would like to make a comeback in Test cricket. For this, I will play a first-class match for FATA the day after tomorrow. I am going there to play the match and work on improving my bowling. There are still several areas I need to improve, and this match will help me do that,” he stated.
FATA will play Lahore Whites, the team Babar will represent in the competition, on November 3 in Islamabad.
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