LAHORE: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has sought the help of Shannon Young, the renowned Australian power-hitting coach, to reinvent his T20 skills after an underwhelming campaign in the just-concluded World Cup, the Press Trust of India news agency reported on Thursday.

Babar made 120 runs from four matches at a strike rate of 101, as Pakistan bowed out of the ICC showpiece even without entering the Super Eights.

Babar met Young, who coached Australia’s Glenn Maxwell and Jake Fraser-McGurk, and discussed with him the essential skills required to execute power shots successfully in T20 format.

The meeting took place in Lahore where Young is on a private visit.

Young has been credited with mentoring a number of Australian players and improving their power-hitting skills.

The young batting sensation McGurk had set the 2024 edition of the Indian Pre­mier League (IPL) alight with his range-hitting while playing for the Delhi Capitals.

Babar has often been criticised for his low strike-rate and inability to regularly hit sixes in the shortest format and after 123 T20Is he has a strike rate of 129.

The 29-year-old was removed as captain of all formats last year after Pakistan failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the 50-over World Cup in India.

But he was reinstated as captain in the white ball formats ahead of the T20 World Cup in place of Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2024