Andy Flower says “I rate Babar Azam very highly in all the formats”

• Andy Flower is head coach of Multan Sultans and former England and PSL player.
• The former England coach also rates Pakistan skipper Babar Azam highly.
• Suryakumar Yadav says there is space for all types of cricketers.

Andy Flower, the head coach of Multan Sultans and a former England and PSL player, believes that Shan Masood has improved his white ball game recently and has referred to him as a reliable captain in the game’s shorter format.

Andy Flower also lauded Pakistani skipper Babar Azam when speaking to a gathering of Pakistani journalists in Dubai, where he is presently leading Gulf Giants in the ILT20.

“I rate Babar Azam very highly in all the formats, he has been a superb T20 cricketer, it depends how Pakistani selectors see it and I just think he is a superb cricketer and adds to any XI he is picked in,” he said of Pakistan’s captain.

“I think Shan Masood is a superb cricketer and his white ball confidence and white ball skills have grown tremendously over the last few years because of the exposure in PSL and also he has sort out cricket in England as well and I think that has been really good for his game, he has grown his confidence definitely. I think, he is really good captain, I have worked with him as a captain, he is outstanding young man and I don’t know what are the options available in Pakistan but as far as Shan is concerned, he is a solid man,” he said when he was asked to share his thoughts on recent reports that suggested Shan is likely to replace Babar as ODI captain.

In response to a query, Andy endorsed the notion of having various management in various formats but stated that it mainly depended on the conditions and possibilities available to any particular club.

Andy continued by stating that due to his present commitments with several T20 teams, he will not be able to lead Pakistan’s team.

“At the moment I am enjoying my franchise experiences and I am quite busy at the moment and I am going to stick doing that,” he said.

“I think they know that I am busy with franchise cricket at the moment,” Andy Flower added.

According to the former England coach, anchoring might be crucial in T20 format.

“We all like aggression I think but I still think there is role for different types of players in T20s. It depends on selectors, coaches and captains of a particular team that how they want to balance it out. Certainly, power and aggression is important but there are different ways of scoring runs in cricket. Suryakumar Yadav has shown very recently how to do it with skills and innovation. I think there is space of all type of cricketers, you just need to get your balance right,” he said.

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