ISLAMABAD: Former captain Ramiz Raja feels that Babar Azam will have to assert his authority as a captain and take control of the affairs to put Pakistan team on a winning track.

“I’ve felt that [during the bowling] senior players took Babar Azam and bowlers too much in the huddle. No doubt, these huddles would have been with the good intention, but I feel sometimes it take clarity away from the captain,” Ramiz said on his YouTube channel while commenting on Pakistan team’s loss to England in the second T20.

According to Ramiz too much advice by other players put the captain in pressure. “So, Babar will have to take a little bit more control on his captaincy because a captain [normally] undergoes a drill with his bowlers to execute his plans. If someone gives too much advice to the captain on critical moments, he may feel more pressure.”

He said Babar was at the outset of his captaincy and he could learn a lot from the defeat. “Pakistan will also have to realize that England are a top quality side, who will never relax. They can put pressure on you no matter even if you have scored 200 runs.”

The cricketer-turned commentator said that Pakistan batted very well but their bowling was not up to the mark. “At the innings break, Pakistan had a solid grip on the match. A target of [around] 200 runs is always considered a big total.

“Pakistan needed just two [good] overs to kill England’s rhythm. But nowhere [in the innings] we got such two overs to exert pressure on England.

Ramiz lauded batsmen for playing some superb knocks and said that had been successful in putting England bowlers under great pressure. “We will have to appreciate Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez. Fakhar Zaman too played well.

“But we’ll also have to give credit to England batsmen as they did not commit any mistake. Morgan and Malan both put up stunning shows.”

He said Pakistan would have to improve the balance between their batting and bowling to emerge as a better side. “They’ll have to bring these both departments on equal terms otherwise they will continue to get punished.”

He said Pakistan still had the chance to level the series by coming up with great fighting spirit in the last T20 on Tuesday.

He said Mohammad Amir, who got unfit during the second T20 match would probably not be part of playing eleven in the final fixture and he could be replaced with seasoned fast bowler Wahab Riaz. “If he is not given the chance, then a spin bowler can be included in the team as I believe Pakistan can create troubles for England through spin bowling and dominate them.”—APP