Sana Mir clarifies her statement regarding Fakhar, Babar

Former Pakistan women's captain, Sana Mir, has clarified her recent comments about Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam, after her statements received some backlash. 

Mir emphasized that her intention was to highlight the importance of having a balanced team with both stable and impact players, and not to undermine any particular player's skills.

ALSO READ: Babar Azam fans think Sana Mir took an indirect dig at Pakistan captain

"I had led the Pakistan team for over eight years and teams are formed in such a way that you have to mix and match.  It's not possible to have 11 Shahid Afridis, nor 11 Fakhar Zamans or 11 Babar Azams in a team. You have to strike a balance where one player provides stability and the other complements him. That's why I always emphasize the importance of a player scoring a century while playing above his strike-rate when chasing 350 runs," she said.

Importance of impact player's big knock in a big chase. Watch full video to understand the importance of both players like Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman. pic.twitter.com/zCns6wK9xO

— Sana Mir ثناء میر (@mir_sana05) May 1, 2023

Sana further added that players who score at a run-a-ball rate are also important, but a team also needs other players who can contribute with impactful innings to achieve a big target.

She cited the example of Fakhar, who has a unique style of playing, and said that the team needs his contribution along with other players who can perform even if their strike-rate is not high.

"Obviously, a player who scores a run-a-ball century has his own specialty, but along with him, you need three small innings from impact players so that you can chase 350 runs. If someone has scored 50 runs on 30 balls or 60-70 runs on 40 balls, then you need this kind of performance along with a run-a-ball century. But the kind of player Fakhar Zaman is, you also need one or two more performances from him even if the other players strike-rate is not high. So it is necessary to have both kind of players, especially on tours when you are aiming for big targets. When an impact player scores a hundred, it is very important, but people tend to take things out of context," Sana said.

The former skipper also noted that Babar has shown improvement in his strike rate, and Rizwan's ability to finish matches is a positive sign for the team's future. 

"Babar Azam has improved his strike rate, and the way Mohammad Rizwan finished both matches scoring 50 runs on 30 balls, your team is going in a great direction. These things should be taken with context. Obviously, while commentating, we also prepare for the fact that people will take things out of context and express their frustration in different ways," she concluded.

Previously, during the post-match analysis, Sana Mir praised Fakhar's performance and highlighted his importance to the team. However, her comments were perceived by some Babar Azam fans as an indirect dig at the current Pakistan captain.

"We were talking off-air as well that his [Fakhar] runs are always for the team. If he scores a century, he does it at a strike-rate of 125, which is important when you are chasing a target close to 350, and not at a strike-rate of 100. That is the reason why he is crucial for this team, because where we already have players who play at run-a-ball, his role becomes crucial to chase 300 run plus targets," Mir had said during the post-match analysis.

Some Babar fans took to social media to express their displeasure with Sana Mir's comments, accusing her of taking a dig at the captain.