Former Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez has revealed that during the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand, he encouraged Babar Azam to adapt his role to the demands of the team.
During an appearance on a local sports channel, Hafeez revealed that he reminded Babar and Mohammad Rizwan that they are not the only ones playing; it’s about the whole team.
“It took me about two months to convince Babar Azam that you have to do it for Pakistan and you are not the first to do it. You are a great player, you are a great player and you play great cricket, whatever you have to develop the Pakistan team. You and Rizwan you are very good players, excellent players but you are not the whole team. We need to make a team and that’s why I want you to come in at number 3 because you have been playing that role in ODI cricket for the last six years so it won’t affect you; technically you are very solid ,” said Hafeez.
“I thank him very much for accepting it and playing for Pakistan as a No. 3, which is obviously the best way to move forward in my opinion,” he added.
It is worth noting that Babar had been opening T20 matches with Rizwan for over two years, but Hafeez suggested a change. He asked Babar to bat at number three instead, a position he is good at in one-dayers. Babar agreed and showed his commitment to the team’s success through his own statistics.
