Setting targets: Shahid Afridi advises Babar Azam to think big

Former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Wednesday encouraged Babar Azam, the skipper of the national cricket squad, to think big when it comes to giving targets to opponents.

The remark came in response to Babar's statement before Pakistan's match against Bangladesh in the ongoing tri-series in Christchurch in which the captain said he was thinking of setting a target of 160 runs for The Tigers to chase.

"Babar must come out of this average mindset and think big," Afridi said.

The all-rounder, famous for his explosive batting style, said the big intentions could bring the opposing team under a lot of pressure if the batting side “comes out with plans to put a big total on the scoreboard while standing on the wicket”.

"If scoring 160 runs for the target against Bangladesh was his ‘big intent’ then what is he going to do against stronger teams," the star player added.

Moreover, while speaking about wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, who currently holds the title of top T20 batter in the world, Afridi said that the nation should thank Allah for a player like him.

"The actual thing is the beginning. Babar and Rizwan should score chunk of runs [for other batters]," he said.

Afridi said that the way Rizwan was playing right now, he "shouldn't listen to anyone".