'We are stuck and it's difficult to get out' - Aaqib Javed slams Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam for their poor strike rate

Aaqib Javed, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam (Image Source: Twitter)

Asia Cup 2022 turned out to be a great tournament for Pakistan barring the finals. On the night of the finals, the Men in Green put on a dismal performance causing a string of reproval from former greats of the nation. Aaqib Javed, the former Pakistani great, slammed Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam for their poor strike rate.

The Pakistani wicketkeeper amassed 281 runs in the tournament, but what caused the anger was his strike rate of 117.57. Babar Azam, the Pakistani skipper, had a poor outing with the bat as he failed to emulate his recent best. Aaqib Javed slammed the duo and said that the Men in Green won’t be able to chase targets of more than 150 with this intent.

Aaqib Javed further added that the duo can neither be dropped nor be sacked as they are technically strong. The former Pakistani great said to Sports PakTv that the team must look to emulate the aggression of Mohammad Nawaz and play aggressively.

“Babar and Rizwan will never be out from the team because they will keep scoring runs. But what's the point of them scoring runs? You will only win those games where the target is in the 150-range. When you get a target of 180, you will need an innings that Mohammad Nawaz played at no.4 (in the Asia Cup game against India),” he said.

“We are stuck and it's difficult to get out of it because one is the captain and the other is a vice-captain, and both play a similar style of cricket. They don't get out, both are technical batters,” he added further.

It will be a problem: Aaqib Javed

The former Pakistani further opined on the powerplay and said that the team must improve on the same. Aaqib Javed highlighted the potential of Fakhar Zaman and slammed the management for sending him at number three.

“You are wasting Fakhar at 3, he is an opener. The powerplay is for a reason, Cricket’s governing body wants batters to hit in the first six overs. We don't even do that. How will we score 60 runs in six overs? Australia has bigger grounds, and the ball bounces a lot more. It will be a problem,” he concluded.