‘He has matured’ – Rashid Latif explains areas where Babar Azam has improved

Rashid Latif and Babar Azam. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Babar Azam has been Pakistan’s most prolific batter for a number of years but there have been question marks over his leadership credentials. However, a lot of the doubters were silenced when the right-handed batter led Pakistan to the finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup. Babar’s task wasn’t easy as he had to motivate his team after they suffered a demoralising defeat earlier in the tournament against arch-rivals India.

Former Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif remembered how some people had predicted that the pressure of captaincy would cause Babar’s performances to dip but the 28-year-old has proved them wrong. Rashid also explained how Babar has evolved as a leader, being stronger in selecting his teams over the last couple of years.

“What Babar has done for Pakistan is a sign of a great player. He has scored runs with great consistency. When he took over the captaincy, many stated that there would be a dip in his performance. However, he was about to double and triple it. He has matured as a captain. He is no longer weak with the team selection. He is not the same Babar that he was two years ago. He learned from his mistakes,” Rashid said while speaking to Cricket Pakistan.

Sarfaraz Ahmed is a very experienced player and should have been in the squad: Rashid Latif

Rashid has been a big supporter of wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed. Prior to Pakistan’s two-match Test series against Sri Lanka last month, the 54-year-old batted for Sarfaraz to get a start ahead of Mohammad Rizwan and also be named the vice-captain. The former Pakistan captain eventually started ahead of Rizwan but couldn’t make much of an impact.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently announced their squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Haris were the two wicketkeeper-batters picked in the side as Sarfaraz was overlooked. While Rashid was all praise for the young and talented Haris, he felt that the experienced Sarfaraz should have been picked ahead of him.

“Mohammad Haris is a wonderful player and has done well in T20 cricket. He is a very dangerous player in the powerplay. However, I believe his ODI career will start after the World Cup. Yes, he could succeed here too, but Sarfaraz is a very experienced player and should have been in the squad. You sideline a player so easily and bring a new guy in his place,” said Rashid.

Pakistan are currently playing Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka. The ‘Men in Green’ lead the series 1-0 after annihilating Afghanistan by 142 runs in the first ODI in Hambantota on Tuesday, August 22.