Says says Babar alone can't lift Pakistan cricket
Former Pakistan batter Mohsin Khan watches the game with the eye of a man who has lived it.
The 70-year old's views on Pakistan's current mainstay Babar Azam are both appreciative and cautionary.
"Babar isn't a bad batter," he tells PTI in an interview, choosing his words carefully.
"But you need a clutch of quality players around him to support him. Look at Virat Kohli. In Tests he had Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul. In ODIs he had Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. A great player is made even greater when surrounded by other strong players."
Babar and Rizwan aren't a part of Asia Cup and Mohsin attributes it to the pressure that was on them to score runs.
"If you are always put under pressure that you have to score centuries every time you step out, they are humans too -- hence at times you aren't able to play the game the team requires you to play."
He contrasts that with Pakistan's past batting line-ups.
"During our time there was Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, and later Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan.
"Teams are built on numbers -- you need a group of players who are more or less of the same quality. Right now, there is a big gulf between Babar and the rest."