Pakistan captain Shan Masood backs Babar Azam to return stronger | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Babar Azam has been left out of Pakistan’s Test squad, but red-ball captain Shan Masood believes a break could help him regain his form.
Azam stepped down from captaincy in all formats last year following Pakistan’s early exit from the 50-overs World Cup. In March, he returned as the white-ball captain for the T20 World Cup, but the team did not reach the Super Eight stage.
Last month, Azam relinquished the captaincy again and was dropped for the second and third Tests against England after scoring 35 runs in the first Test.
Masood spoke to the BBC’s ‘Stumped’ podcast, supporting Azam’s potential and need for a break.
“I think he’s one of the best batsmen in the world. I’m nobody to deny him a future. He has every quality to be one of the greatest batsmen in Test cricket,” Masood said.
“He’s always there or thereabouts in the rankings. Sometimes, people need a break. I personally think this break will do him a great deal of benefit and he’ll come back a stronger player,” he added.
Azam, 30, is set for a brief absence from the team as he has been named in the one-day international and T20 squads for the upcoming tour of Australia.
Pakistan’s next Test series is scheduled for December against South Africa.