Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam's poor run in Test cricket continued. On Day 2 of the second Test against Bangladesh, Babar looked a pale shadow of himself during the 31-run knock and was undone by an arm ball by Shakib Al Hasan. Despite Babar not being able to score a half-century in last 15 innings, his teammate Agha Salman defended him. In the press conference after the day's play, Salman told the reporter to not just focus on Babar and other 10 players as well. He backed the 29-year-old to regain his form.
“Babar Azam is a world-class player. As a cricketer, you go through these phases. He has scored consistently throughout the last five years. Soon, we will see him scoring big runs for Pakistan again,” Salman said.
“As a cricketer, you have such phases in your life. There are 10 other players in the team, you should focus on them. It's fine if he's struggling. He will return to scoring big runs very soon.”
Babar’s last fifty-plus score came against New Zealand in December 2022 when he scored 161 in Karachi. He was lacklustre on Australia and Sri Lanka tours. His average has dropped below 45 as well.
Babar trapped by Shakib
Earlier, Babar got off to a nervy start. He struggled against young pacer Nahid Rana who got him out in the previous game. One of his two boundaries came via an inside edge. He failed to pick the length Shakib bowled an arm ball that hit him on the pads. He scored 31 runs from 77 deliveries. He did not even bother to review the decision and walked back to the dressing room.
Salman’s rescue knock
While Babar departed for a 77-ball 31, Salman scored a crucial half-century batting with the tail. Salman scored 54 runs from 95 balls amid batting collapse and helped Pakistan post 274 on the board after they were put to bat first by Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto.
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