Babar Azam has struggled for form in World Cup 2023© AFP
Since reaching India for the Cricket World Cup 2023, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has failed to deliver with the bat. Though Babar has gotten off to fine starts on a few occasions, he has failed to make it big on every instance. Ramiz Raja, one of the finest Pakistan cricketers ever, donned a pundit’s hat as he analysed the reasons behind Babar’s poor form with the bat. Ramiz feels it’s against spin where Babar has looked the most ‘jittery’.
“If you want to find fault in his batting, it’s his batting against spin upfront when he starts the innings. He is not as fluent as he is when he is facing pace. I don’t know whether it’s his footwork whether it’s in his mind, or whether he doesn’t have too many options because he doesn’t play the sweep shot. On slow pitches, you need to play the sweep shot,” Ramiz said in a chat on Star Sports.
“Every time he has been aggressive, he’s gotten out as well. Against Afghanistan, he hit a massive six and then got out just at the wrong time. So the confidence builds and it goes flat,” he stated.
Giving a piece of advice, Ramiz urged Babar to dig deep and find a way to grind during those difficult phases, be it against pace or spin.
“All he needs to do is work his way through to a hundred where he faces pace, spin, and feels comfortable about his role. He is not entirely out of touch, he is still middling the ball, but it’s that when he begins his innings against spin, he looks just a little bit jittery,” Ramiz added.
With the win against Bangladesh, Pakistan have kept their Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-final hopes alive. However, the chances of them finishing top 4 depend a lot on how some of the other results unfold.
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