Sports
‘Poor performance’: Hafeez questions Babar, Rizwan’s place in Pakistan cricket team
Former Pakistan skipper Mohammad Hafeez has raised questions over the selection of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the national cricket team, pointing to their continuous poor performance in recent years.
Speaking on a local YouTube channel, Hafeez clarified that key players are those who win matches and in recent years, both Rizwan and Babar have failed to deliver match winning performances.
“Calling them key players would be wrong and unfair. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are not Pakistan cricket’s key players at the moment. Key players are those who win matches for Pakistan.
“If we look at the past year and a half to two years, the players showing consistent performance are Salman Ali Agha, Saeem Ayub and Hasan Nawaz. Why aren’t we talking about them? They are the current players winning matches for Pakistan,” he said.
Hafeez also questioned Babar and Rizwan’s place in the team, saying they need to justify their spots as players.
“I think Babar and Rizwan need to be concerned about their positions in the team. They need to prove themselves as good players first; key players come later. Both were good in the past, but now they are not delivering results,” he remarked.
He advised both to regain form and criticised the performances of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi as well.
“Both need to be fully involved in the game, otherwise results won’t come. The same goes for Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, they are also not giving match winning performances for Pakistan,” he added.
Hafeez emphasised that Pakistan cricket does not need big names but players who can perform consistently for the next decade.
“We should focus on players who can contribute for the next 10–15 years. Our media criticises one or two players and hypes one or two others, which is wrong. We need to talk about those who are actually performing,” he noted.
He further criticised players for failing Pakistan cricket on the field while having strong PR campaigns on social media. Hafeez urged the PCB to take action.
“If we want to improve Pakistan cricket, those in the AC rooms and those executing plans on the ground must address these issues promptly,” he concluded.
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Geoffrey Boycott advises England to ‘use brains’ for Ashes remainder
Legendary England batter Geoffrey Boycott on Monday advised the Ben Stokes-led side to adopt a more strategic and thoughtful approach ahead of the second Ashes Test against Australia, scheduled for Thursday in Brisbane.
England suffered an agonising eight-wicket defeat in the series opener in Perth, which lasted less than two days, the first of which was dominated by the touring side as they had reduced the hosts to 123/9 after accumulating 172 all out.
The visitors now face another gruelling challenge in the blockbuster series as they take on the Baggy Greens in a pink-ball Test, in which the hosts boast a dominant record, having lost just one out of their previous 14 appearances, but Boycott, who has won Ashes both in England and Australia, believes that the Three Lions can win the upcoming game by adopting a calculated strategy.
He, however, warned England batters of self-destruction, advising them to “use their brains” and decide whether to attack or hold back after analysing the situation.
“But it doesn’t help our chances of success if Ben Stokes keeps encouraging our batsmen to attack, attack with one finger hovering over the self-destruct button,” Boycott wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.
“Nobody is asking the players to stop being positive because they have given us some marvellous, thrilling and entertaining cricket. All we ask is for them to use their brains and realise there are times when they should throttle back and be aware of situations and bat accordingly,” he added.
Boycott, who represented England in 108 Tests and 36 ODIs, also slammed Stokes for his comments in which he referred to former cricketers as “has-beens” but expressed satisfaction over the all-rounder’s partial apology.
“To call past players ‘has-beens’ was disrespectful, especially as some of those ‘has-beens’ played in teams that won the Ashes in England and Australia,” Boycott wrote.
“I am glad Ben has half apologised, saying it was a slip of the tongue, because none of this team has won the Ashes in Australia. Get the job done, because then you don’t need to say anything and you can bask in all the glory coming your way.”
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