The current team director of Pakistani Cricket team Mohammad Hafeez shared that it took him a few months to persuade Babar Azam to bat at No. 3 in T20Is.
Hafeez emphasised the importance of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan considering the team’s welfare rather than focusing solely on themselves.
Despite Babar and Rizwan’s huge success as openers in T20s, the team management opted to split them before the series against New Zealand. Rizwan acknowledged that this choice had a detrimental impact on the team.
In a conversation with a local channel, Hafeez reminisced about advising Babar and Rizwan that they are not the entirety of the team.
Former Pakistani batter said,”It took me about two months to convince Babar Azam that you have to do it for Pakistan and you are not the first one who’s doing it. You are a great player, you are a wonderful player and you are playing great cricket however you have to develop the Pakistan team. You and Rizwan are very good players, excellent players but you are not the whole team.”
Hafeez expressed optimism, stating that he believed Babar would thrive at No. 3 in T20Is, drawing confidence from his success in the same position in ODIs.
“We need to develop a team and for that, I want you to come at No. 3 because you have been playing this role in the ODI cricket for the last six years, so it won’t affect you; technically you are very solid. Thank you very much to him that he accepted this and he played for Pakistan at No. 3 which obviously I think is the best way to move,” he explained.
