Abdullah slowed down because of Babar's advice: Abdul Razzaq
Razzaq alleged that Abdullah received guidance from Babar to modify his aggressive style
Former Pakistani cricketer, Abdul Razzaq, has accused Babar Azam of being the catalyst behind a shift in Abdullah Shafique's batting approach in the ICC World Cup 2023 game against Afghanistan yesterday
Ex-all-rounder Razzaq thinks that when Abdullah Shafique was at the crease, he played aggressively, but once Babar began his innings, a noticeable change came in Abdullah's batting strategy.
While talking on Geo News, Razzaq alleged that Abdullah received guidance from Babar to modify his aggressive style.
"When Abdullah Shafique was playing he was aggressive but when Babar came in to bat, he was stopping his shots, which means he got guidelines to not hit the shot. He tried to stop the ball or play a half-hearted shot. The ball he got out on was not a wicket-taking ball, it seemed like he did not know how to play. This means that whenever the captain is on the crease the strike rate of other players is 78 to 80. It means that he was told to play like that," Razzaq said.
Moreover, Razzaq voiced his apprehension regarding the team's overarching strategy, stressing that a target of 270 against specific teams falls short, and the approach ought to have been to set a score of around 350.
Pakistan set a 283-run target for Afghanistan in the World Cup clash on Monday in Chennai, which was chased by them with eight wickets in hand.
"This is not cricket. You are scoring 270 against such teams, target should be around 350. This should have been your approach. They say Babar doesn't know captaincy then what are the people in management doing? They should help him out. What are they writing stats," Razzaq added.
The national team, with two wins and three defeats, will now play South Africa at the same venue on October 27.
