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“Babar Azam Has Been…”: Shahid Afridi Backs PAK Legend Amid T20I Return Rumour

Aakash Saini

Babar Azam and Shahid Afridi [Source: @dubai_152, @hashim_i/x]Babar Azam and Shahid Afridi [Source: @dubai_152, @hashim_i/x]

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has backed modern-day batting behemoth Babar Azam over his strike rate in T20I cricket. Babar, who has not played a single T20I for Pakistan since December last year, will reportedly be making his return to the national side for the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup in the UAE.

While nothing has been confirmed yet, legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi has given his take over the potential return of the 30-year-old.

Afridi Alleges Babar Was Dropped Despite Having Good S/R

Shahid Afridi was recently asked to give his take over the potential return of Babar Azam into the Pakistan T20I team. The former cricketer responded that since strike rates is a major factor in T20Is, Babar should not have been dropped from the team in the first place as he managed to maintain a healthy strike rate in his career.

Shahid Afridi also added that the new players in the team should perform with a similar consistency and bat with higher strike rates. While speaking on Cricwickofficial during an exclusive interview, he said:

“Strikes rates of the players should be better. Babar Azam has been a consistent performer, and whenever he enters a ground, people expect him to come up with big runs. He was batting with a good strike rate, which means we should not have omitted him from the team. Anyways, if we are giving opportunities to new players, then they should be consistent and bat with high strike rates.”

Earlier this week, several reports claimed that Babar Azam will be making his return to Pakistan T20I team in the 2025 T20 Asia Cup as a replacement for injured Fakhar Zaman.

Nonetheless, Babar Azam and the rest of his teammates are currently in the West Indies for a three-match ODI series against the hosts. The matches will be played between August 8 and August 12 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in San Fernando.