Cricket News: Shan Masood, another member of the national squad, has defended Babar Azam in the face of harsh criticism from former teammates about his leadership. The 33-year-old has praised Azam for being a superb leader and said that in order for him to put on a strong performance, his squad must back him.
Notably, many ex-players have criticised Babar for his captaincy, notably Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, and Dinesh Kaneria. The criticism increased after Pakistan lost in the T20 World Cup and Asia Cup finals in 2022, but according to Masood, the team seems unconcerned.
“We were willing to sacrifice our lives for Sarfaraz Ahmed when he served as our captain, and we are again willing to sacrifice our lives for Babar Azam. He needs the team’s backing because he is a superb captain. As a team, we want to play for the nation and do everything in our power to accomplish this,” said the 33-year-old as quoted by The Indian Express.
“Since our shared goal is to represent our country on the field,” Masood continued, “We watch a lot of news about criticism of the team but we don’t get worried by them.”
As the Peshawar Zalmi team captain in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL), Babar has recently responded to all of the accusations and claimed that no one will ever talk well of him.
“Because it is unlikely that everyone will support you, criticism will continue. As it boosts my confidence, I usually try to be upbeat,” Azam stated last week.
Shaheen Afridi receives compliments from Shan Masood
Following the speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi’s outstanding performance in the current PSL, Masood showered him with praise. The 22-year-old has played in seven games so far and taken 10 wickets, becoming the most successful skipper in PSL history (70% victory percentage). Speaking of the pacer, Masood said that despite being the best bowler in the world right now, he is really challenging to play.
The top-order hitter explained, “If you are making it through Shaheen’s first over and also hitting a six, it signifies that you are playing very well as he is now the number one bowler in the world.”
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