Babar Azam does not give the kind of match-winning assurance we expect from him: Shahid Afridi

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi stated that Babar Azam does not give match-winner's assurance like India stars Virat Kohli and KL Rahul do for their side. Pakistan are on the edge of getting knocked out from the 2023 ODI World Cup, having lost four of the seven games they have played so far.

Afridi stated that Babar would score runs for his side but he was not capable of helping Pakistan win the game. The legendary all-rounder further compares the 29-year-old to Kohli and Rahul, stating the India batters score runs and lead the team to success.

"Babar Azam ka run run karna alag cheez hai lekin Babar Azam ke score se match jeetna alag hai. Virat Kohli, KL Rahul wagerah kya karte hai? Woh apne run bhi karte hai, balls bhi khelte hai aur apne team ko jita ke bhi aate hai. (Babar scoring runs and Babar scoring runs in a winning cause are two different things. Look at what Virat Kohli and KL Rahul do. They score their runs, consume deliveries and make sure they win the match for the team)," Afridi told SAMAA TV.

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The 46-year-old went on to say that he is a fan of Babar, calling the 29-year-old a "big player", but added that they are supposed to get a feeling that Babar will win the game for Pakistan but unfortunately, it has not happened yet.  

"I'm Babar's fan, make no mistake. We say Babar is a big player. Reaching that level is one thing and maintaining your performance once you reach that level is much more difficult. When Babar Azam walks in to bat, we should get a feeling that he will win it for us. But that feeling doesn't come. We know that he will score 50-60 but we are confident that he will win us the match," he concluded.

It is worth mentioning that Babar entered the competition as one of the batters to watch out for. However, the No. 1 ODI batter has so far scored 216 runs from seven games, including three half-centuries at an average of 30.85. Notably, Pakistan suffered defeats in which Babar scored a fifty.

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