Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam has advised fellow opener Mohammad Haris to finish the games for his side.
Speaking after losing to Islamabad United in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Thursday, Azam said that Haris tries to take the attack to the opposition.
“The way Haris is playing, he tries to put pressure on the opposition. He is trying to execute his game but he has not been able to finish it off. I think he should stay out there for a longer period of time. I try to share my experience with him as well so that he continues to learn,” said Babar.
Azam, who scored unbeaten 75 runs in 58 balls, also spoke about the reason behind losing the match against United
“We started very well but couldn’t finish properly. We were trying to execute our plans in the powerplay, but I think back-to-back wickets fell after that. Then I thought to take the game deep but whenever I decided to charge the opposition, wickets kept on tumbling,” said Babar in a post-match presser.
“I was middling the ball well, but the situation was such that I wanted take the game deep. But I couldn’t finish the innings the way I should’ve.
“I think you must adapt to modern-day cricket and keep playing the situation. The main thing is assessing the conditions and planning according to that. The wicket was really good; I was planning around 180-200.”
He also lauded pacer Hasan Ali, who bagged figures of 3-35 and was declared player of the match.
“Hasan Ali’s spell changed the game completely; I think he took crucial wickets, which changed the whole game. I was satisfied with the first half but couldn’t finish the innings well enough,” he added.
Babar also said that fielding is a concerning point for their side but brushed aside the notion that Zalmi’s bowling is weak. “I think we also have an experienced bowling line-up with some youngsters. We didn’t do well in the field; you have to take some outstanding catches. I don’t think we have weak bowling; sometimes, we are executing our plans, and sometimes not. The main concern is fielding; I think we’ll have to recover in that,” he concluded.
