Teams Are Scared Of Him: Waqar Younis Disappointed After Injury Rules Babar Azam Out Of New Zealand T20Is

Pakistan’s bowling coach Waqar Younis has expressed his disappointment over the unfortunate injury to Babar Azam ahead of the T20I series against New Zealand. The bowling legend termed the ouster of the top batsman and captain from the upcoming T20 series a big blow to the touring side.

Babar Azam sustained the injury on his right thumb at Queenstown during Pakistan team’s practice session. Pakistan are scheduled to play three T20Is against the hosts before both the teams will lock horns in two Tests. Waqar admitted that Babar’s absence will have an impact on Pakistan’s chances of winning the three-match series.

“There is no doubt that Babar is one of the best players in the world now in any format. So it is a major setback for us. Other teams are scared of him,” Waqar said from New Zealand during a media interaction with Pakistani journalists.

“It is unfortunate that it (injury) happened at the wrong time, just at the stroke of the the series starting,” he added.

At the same time, Waqar insisted that injuries were part and parcel of the sport. The former Pakistan captain pointed out that Babar Azam’s unfortunate injury is now an opportunity for others to step up and make use of the opportunities. He also said that with Babar Azam not available, the management will have to shuffle the batting order and revisit the combinations.

Waqar further said that the players are slowly getting back to normal cricket after their long quarantine period in Christchurch. He admitted that the quarantine had hampered the team’s preparations. Pakistan’s quarantine period had to be extended and they were also barred from training after positive COVID-19 cases from their camp.

“I know the circumstances are not normal for us due to Covid-19 and teams are facing problems on tours. But we all have got to deal with this and it is our job to get the best out of players,” he said

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