Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi
Babar Azam (Image Credit: Twitter)

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has responded to former speedster Shoaib Akhtar’s statement that the current side does not have any star players.

Babar Azam and the entire Pakistani team have come under the scanner following their shambolic performance against a second-choice England team in the just-concluded ODI series.

Following a 0-3 whitewash, fans as well as several former Pakistan cricketers including Shoaib Akhtar lambasted the Babar Azam-led unit on their respective YouTube channels for their listless performance.

Responding to Akhtar’s statement that the Pakistan team does not have any star players, Babar Azam said that one should ask the former pacer- ‘who a star is?’

Shoaib Akhtar, PSL
Shoaib Akhtar [Image Credits: Google]
Azam further added that while Akhtar may not think so but his players are working hard and giving their 100 per cent on the field.

“I think he [Shoaib Akhtar] doesn’t think so, but all the players are giving their 100 per cent everywhere. I think you should ask him who a star is and who isn’t. I can’t argue or give comments on this.” Babar Azam was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

‘We lost the match today because of bowling and fielding’- Babar Azam

Babar Azam, Pakistan, ODI Centuries
Babar Azam (Image Credit: Twitter)

As far as the performance of his team in the ODI series is concerned, Babar stated that the lackluster performance by his batting unit contributed to defeats in the first two matches.

Read More  RR vs DC Match Prediction- Who Will Win Today’s IPL Match? IPL 2024, Match 9

The batting unit finally fired in the last game as the likes of Babar Azam, who smashed his career-best score of 158 and Mohammad Rizwan, who scored a counter-attacking 58-ball 74, guided the visitors to 331 in 50 overs on what Babar described as a two-paced wicket.

However, he was quick to admit that it was his bowling unit and fielding which let the team down in the final game as the likes of James Vince and Lewis Gregory guided England to a three-wicket win.

“If we talk about the batting, the ball was coming on with a bit of double pace early on. We were trying to get a partnership going. The longer we took it, the better for us because we could have recovered towards the end. I had a partnership with Imam and then another good one with Mohammad Rizwan. I think the score was enough. We could have scored more but lost some back-to-back wickets.” said Babar Azam.

”In the first two matches, our batting let us down. We lost early wickets in the first ten overs. We didn’t have momentum because of that. I have said it before as well that we lost the match today because of bowling and fielding.” he added.

Also Read- ICC Rankings Update: Babar Azam Consolidates His No.1 Spot In ODIs; Fabian Allen Breaks Into Top-Ten T20I Bowlers List

Read More  Hanuma Vihari replies to Andhra Cricket Association's summon