Don’t let Babar’s absence affect you: Miandad advises Pakistan team

Batting legend Javed Miandad believes Babar Azam’s absence should not haunt Pakistan in the Twenty20 International (T20I) series against New Zealand, saying every player who gets a chance should have the confidence to perform for the team.

Babar has been ruled out of the New Zealand T20Is after suffering a fracture in his right thumb during Sunday practice session. The 26-year-old skipper won’t be attending nets for at least, 12 days and would be unavailable for the Dec18, 20 and 22 T20s to be played in Auckland, Hamilton and Napier, respectively.

Miandad was of the view that every player in the team should have the confidence to prove their mettle and any single player’s absence must not haunt the whole team.

“Babar is our key player. No doubt his absence will affect the team as he is [Pakistan’s] best performing player at the moment. However, the team should not get under pressure as there are 11 players in the team who all must have the confidence to perform for their country,” former skipper Miandad said while talking to APP on Monday.

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“If any one player gets injured or else, then others should fulfill his responsibility in the team by performing as victory is gained when the whole team performs.”

The former batting legened reckons the entire Pakistan team is capable of winning the series against the Kiwis.

“All the players are equally good as they are playing for the country. They just need to build their confidence and whoever gets the chance must perform,” he insisted.