‘Big match player’ Azhar Ali will perform against England: Former captain

Backing Azhar Ali despite his poor form, former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal has said Azhar will perform well on the big stage against England.

In an interview, the former captain, also known as ‘man of crises’, said both batsmen Asad Shafiq and Azhar will play crucial roles for Pakistan in the upcoming Test series.

“Asad had a great game against Northamptonshire and did well in the first innings in the Test against Ireland. However, Azhar did not get the runs that we would have liked him to score. But I am not worried about that at all,” PakPassion quoted Asif.

Backing the most experienced batsman in the Test squad of Pakistan currently, he said a good player can be out of form in one or two games but if he has the talent and the class then he will undoubtedly come out on top sooner rather than later.

“Azhar’s scores in warm-up games and the one-off Test against Ireland may not be to everyone’s liking but always remember that he is a big-match player and he will perform well on the big stage against England,” he said.

Azhar, who returned to the squad after injury, hasn’t have a good run with the bat as he only manages to score 15 runs against Kent, 19 runs in two innings against Northamptonshire and a total 6 runs in both innings against Ireland.

Pakistan, who have defeated Ireland in the only Test, will now face England in the first Test starting from May 24th at the home of cricket, Lord’s.