Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam has begun hitting the nets ahead of the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, with opening match takes place on January 12, Friday at Eden Park in Auckland.
Babar's form has become a concern for Pakistan as he failed to deliver his best with the bat in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia in Down Under. The 29-year-old managed to score only 126 runs at an average of 21 across six innings.
Babar Azam stepped down from captaincy duties after Pakistan's exit from ODI World Cup in India last year. Shaheen Afridi was appointed as T20I captain, while Shan Masood took over captaincy reins in Test cricket.
In order to revive his lost form, Babar Azam sweated hard in the nets ahead of the New Zealand T20I series. In a video, former Pakistan batter can be seen facing spin bowling coach Saeed Ajmal during batting session, where he played a late cut.
The T20Is have been Babar Azam most preferred formats in international cricket. The 29-year-old is currently the leading run-getter for Pakistan in shortest format, amassing 3485, including three centuries and 50 half-centuries, at an average of 41.48 in 104 matches.
Babar Azam likely to bat at No.3 in T20Is
Pakistan are likely to move on from Babar Azam as opener in T20Is, starting from upcoming series against New Zealand.
It has been reported that Mohammad Rizwan will open with young batter Saim Ayub in the shortest format for Men in Green. Pakistan team management had Saim and Rizwan batting in the nets against pacers, while Azam and Fakhar Zaman batted against spinners.
The newly-appointed T20I captain Shaheen Afridi and head coach Mohammad Hafeez are keen to experiment something new for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Pakistan.
Since his debut in T20I in 2016, Babar Azam has played mostly at the top-order, scoring 2711 runs, 3 centuries, at an average of 39.86 in 79 matches.
