Pakistan captain Babar Azam on Tuesday backed struggling batter Fakhar Zaman and pacer Hasan Ali to come good in the knockout stage of the T20 World Cup, saying they are big match players.

In a virtual media interaction, Babar said he expects both Fakhar and Hasan to return to form in the semi-final against Australia on Thursday.

“You want 11 players to perform? It doesn’t work like that in cricket, three to four players perform in a match,” said the skipper when asked about Fakhar’s low returns in the competition. “The way Fakhar is playing, he has been given all the confidence. On his day he can change the game on his own and I have full confidence he will do it in the coming games.”

Fakhar had scored a match-winning hundred against India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.

On fast bowler Hasan, who has been the weakest link in the bowling department, Babar said the thought of dropping him never crossed his mind.

“I can’t think of leaving him out. He is my main bowler. He has won us tournaments. He is mentally very strong and I believe he is a big match player and will deliver in the semi-finals,” said Babar.

Pakistan, the only unbeaten team in the tournament, have played like a well-oiled machine. However, they have not got a lot of runs in the Powerplay and it is something they can improve against the Australians.

Bubble hassle

Babar backed former India head coach Ravi Shastri’s view that competing regularly in bio-bubbles is not easy for the players as it can leave them “disturbed and uncomfortable”.

“Look there are always ups and downs in professional cricket but yes players do get disturbed and uncomfortable by remaining constantly in a bio-secure bubble environment,” Babar said.