T20 World Cup 2021: Zaheer Khan reacts to Kane Williamson's poor T20I record in Asia

Former Indian seamer Zaheer Khan has backed New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson to shrug off his indifferent T20I record in Asia.

Williamson is hailed as one of the few all-format batters of the current era. The Kiwi skipper is a proven performer in all formats and across all conditions. But if there is one chink in his armor, it's his record in international T20s in Asia.

While he has smashed enough runs for SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL over the years, returns in international T20s haven't been the same.

In 21 T20I innings in Asia, Williamson has managed 521 runs at an average of 26.5 and a strike rate of 112.52 with just two 50+ scores.

However, Zaheer believes players of the quality of Williamson shouldn't be judged by cold numbers. The former pacer, however, admitted that sometimes the focus of a captain shifts towards leading his side rather than his primary job.

Speaking at CricBuzz Live, Williamson said:

"Sometimes when you are the captain, your focus tends to shift away from batting. But numbers don't define players of the quality of Williamson as it's a matter of just one playerayers. He is an all-rounder player and one of the great all three format cricketers of the current era,"

Williamson endured another poor average outing in his side's Super-12 opener against Pakistan as he managed a 26-ball 25 before getting runout by Hasan Ali.

The right-hander survived an LBW call earlier in his innings off the bowling of Mohammad Hafeez but failed to cash-in on the repreive.

Disciplined Pakistan restrict New Zealand to 134

Meanwhile, New Zealand batted first in Sharjah and managed what looks like a below par total of 134/8 in 20 overs.

The pitch at Sharjah in the last couple of games proved to be a batting paradise. But on Tuesday, it was back to being a slow, sluggish surface where hitting across the line was extremely difficult.

Pakistan bowlers were once again on the mark as they didn't allow New Zealand batters to gain any sort of momentum by picking wickets at regular intervals.

Haris Rauf backed up his brilliant outing against India with yet another stellar showing. The pacer finished with figures of 4/22 in four overs.