Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardena has warned Pakistan against putting 'undue pressure' on captain Babar Azam, who is struggling with the bat, ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022.
There has been a lot of talk about Azam’s form and his strike rate in T20Is after he ended the Asia Cup 2022 with 68 runs to his name in 6 innings.
Well, the former Sri Lanka captain felt that there had been a lot of discussion about his form in the Pakistan dressing room, but they should avoid it and speak much about Babar in order to keep him confident and relaxed going into the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
Notably, Pakistan will play 7 T20Is against England at home, and Babar will certainly be looking to find form in the upcoming home series, starting on September 20 in Karachi before heading to Australia.
Mahela Jayawardena said on The ICC Review: “When you have a quality player like that, try and not put pressure on him. I’m sure there would have been a lot of discussion about his form in the Asia Cup and all that. But leading into the World Cup, you want your best player to be confident and relaxed, going into the World Cup.”
The legendary batter continued, “So as long as they are not putting undue pressure on him, that’s the important thing. Being the captain and the best batsman in your team, it is not an easy task. That’s something that he has to live up to.”
He also suggested Babar to get back to his form with the bat before shifting his focus on the captaincy.
Jayawardena signed off by saying, “Going into a World Cup, forget about his captaincy and all that be the batsman that he can be, and then be the captain that he needs to be out there on the field.”
