‘Need someone who can hit boundaries’: Shaheen on 'Babar building partnership' against England

Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi has addressed questions around Babar Azam’s batting approach following Pakistan’s two-wicket defeat to England in a Super Eight match of the Men’s T20 World Cup on Tuesday.

During the post-match press conference, a journalist asked Shaheen about the phase of the innings when Babar was building a partnership with Sahibzada Farhan and how things changed after his dismissal.

Responding to the question, Shaheen spoke about the general requirements of partnerships in T20 cricket.

“A partnership means you need someone at the crease who can hit boundaries and also rotate the strike with singles and doubles,” Shaheen said, while explaining the balance needed during a chase.

Babar scored 25 runs off 24 balls, hitting two fours. He walked in early during the powerplay after Pakistan lost two wickets for 27 runs in 3.3 overs but failed to accelerate before getting dismissed in the 11th over.

Shaheen, who returned figures of 4 for 30 in his four overs, also highlighted the overall demands of the format while crediting England’s bowling.

“In T20 cricket, you need to maintain around eight runs per over throughout the innings. But I think Adil [Rashid] bhai bowled very well,” he added.

The defeat, played out at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, left Pakistan’s campaign in a precarious position.

England booked their place in the semi-finals, while Pakistan now needs other results to go their way and must win their final Super Eight match against Sri Lanka to remain in contention.

Pakistan will face Sri Lanka in their last Super Eight match on Saturday, February 28, at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

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