Watch: Babar Azam fumes at Aaqib Javed’s remark on his strike rate in T20Is – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

After their thumping defeat against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final, Pakistan will now play a seven-match T20 International series against England on home soil. Along with the squad for the series, the management has also announced their squad for the T20 World Cup.

The squad sees no major changes except for the inclusion of the frontline pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi who will return to the circuit after a prolonged injury. However, the strike rate issue of Pakistan’s opening duo of skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan has been a point of concern for the fans and some former cricketers as well. Previously, legendary cricketers like Shoaib Akhtar and Aaqib Javed raised questions about the strike rate of the pair in the shortest format of the game.

Former World Cup-winning pacer Javed, after the announcement of the T20 World Cup squad, took a dig at the selectors’ decision to rely on the opening pair again in the major competition even after they failed to accelerate the innings while batting first during the recently-concluded Asia Cup. He also highlighted their performances in the PSL as a reference. “When we have a match with Karachi Kings and the total is 180+, we never really tried or wished to get Babar Azam out early. He bats at his own pace without thinking about the required run rate. However, when these two bat together, you will get similar performances from them, even though Mohammad Rizwan also performed well in the PSL,” he further added.

Following the remark, skipper Azam opened up about the matter during a press conference. While being asked about Javed’s comment, Azam gave a stern reply stating that everyone had their own perspective but this was the time to consider only Pakistan’s perspective. According to the batter, this comment seemed quite personal to him. “He (Javed) might have a viewpoint on the matter. We don’t pay attention to him, though. Within the team, we don’t discuss outside conversations. There shouldn’t be any personal attacks because every cricketer has faced difficult phases throughout their career,” Azam said.

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Pakistan will square off with England for the opening T20I today at the Karachi National Stadium.