“Should I play with 300 strike rate?” Babar questions journalist

Peshawar Zalmi and Pakistan team’s captain Babar Azam Thursday, replied humorously to a journalist’s question about his strike rate, asking him if he should play at a strike rate of 300.

In a press conference after their one-sided loss against Islamabad United (IU), Babar said that he was playing at a strike rate of 160 until his fifty but he had to play an anchor role when six wickets fell in quick succession.

Peshawar Zalmi skipper, who scored 75 runs off 58 balls in the match against IU, said that a player cannot try to push his strike rate to 200 when wickets are falling around him, he tries to take the game deep.

When a journalist questioned his strike rate, Babar smiled and asked if, he should “play with a strike rate of 300?”

On a question about the importance of innovating in T20 cricket, the right-hander added that in modern-day cricket the importance of different shots is certain and the players keep improving. However, he added, a player can improve his strike rate while playing to his strengths as well.

Babar Azam said that in the first ten overs of the innings, his strike rate was around 160, but after the rapid fall of wickets in the middle overs he tried to take the game deeper.

The PZ skipper admitted that he was not with the latter part of his innings as he could not finish the innings in the desired manner.

Babar said that the pitch was quite good and the score could have been around 180 to 200, but Hasan Ali’s spell changed the match.

On a question about young batters Muhammad Haris and Saim Ayub, Babar said that he tries to teach players like Mohammad Haris and Saeem Ayub and share his experience with the youngsters.

On a question about how his former team Karachi Kings’ performance can improve this season, Babar replied humorously, saying, “I am not their coach,” adding that he should be asked about their match with IU.