Babar Azam may have been feeling a little down on himself after getting dropped from Pakistan’s Test squad, but that changed for a little while when he reached Australia.
Babar Azam greeted by fans upon arrival in Melbourne
After landing Down Under for the upcoming white-ball series’, the star Pakistani batter was greeted by hundreds of fans who requested an image with him. People came running in for an image with one of the best white-ball batters in the world, and Babar happily obliged for each one of them.
Babar isn’t the only one who has arrived at the shores of Australia. Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and Faisal Akram have all touched down as well for the white-ball tour, which commences a week from now. The remaining players in the squad, many of whom were part of the Test series against England, will join them in Melbourne later today.
Babar Azam to focus on finding form
It’s not just Babar’s Test match play, but his form in ODIs has dipped as well. From 2019-2022, he was arguably the world’s best 50-over batter, but last year he struggled, especially compared to the standards he set. After averaging over 60 from 2019 onwards, for the first time last year, his average went under 50. He still scored over 1000 runs but wasn’t close to his best. With the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 coming up, now is the time to find his form once again and show that the slump was an aberration.
Pakistan’s squad for Australia white-ball tour
ODIs: Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (C & WK), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (VC), Shaheen Shah Afridi
T20Is: Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan (C & WK), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (VC), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan
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