The last few months haven’t been sweet for Babar Azam across formats as he continues to go through his rough patch. In the recent Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America, where they were eliminated from the group stage of the event, the Pakistan captain collected 122 runs at a strike rate of just over 100.
The same decline continued in the two-match Test series at home against Bangladesh, as Babar Azam struggled over against the pacers and the spinners, while the luck factor also didn’t work in their favor. He could make only 64 runs in the four innings at an average of 16 and a strike rate of 43.53 with a best score of 31.
That was his best score in the last two years of red-ball cricket, as he now finds himself under tremendous pressure to perform. Slowly but steadily, the questions have started to rise over the class of the former Pakistan red-ball captain.
“Babar Azam is an extra-ordinary cricket, but”- Moin Khan
The former Pakistan wicket-keeper batter, Moin Khan, believes that developing mental resistance would be quite important for Babar Azam to stay and carry the mounting pressure of the game among the star cricketers.
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In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, the veteran admitted the incredible talent of the 30-year-old but also shared the fact that leadership is something where he has to work a lot in the future, and that has perhaps been putting so much pressure on his natural game.
“No doubt, Babar Azam is an extraordinary cricketer, but under his leadership, Pakistan has not won any major events, and that must add extra pressure on him.” Moin Khan expressed in a recent interview.
While interacting about the recent poor performances during the T20 World Cup in the USA, the middle-order batter of the past Pakistan side pointed out that the early exit of the result was a substandard performance from the 2009 champions.
“In the World Cup, Pakistan’s performance was so subpar that we were knocked out in the first round. Even a team like the USA, playing its first World Cup, defeated us. We couldn’t chase a modest target against India.” The 53-year-old narrated.
These days, with the rise of social media, it becomes quite vital for the players to be mentally strong and prepare themselves for every single situation of the game, particularly when they are facing long-standing rivals like India, and that’s something Babar Azam could learn.
“There’s always added pressure in a match against our arch-rivals, and after losing, you need to make a strong comeback. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like Babar delivered an extraordinary performance to silence the critics.” The Rawalpindi-born shaded light.
In 123 games of the shortest format, the opening batter has smashed 4145 runs to be the third highest run-getter of the T20Is at an average of 41.03 and a strike rate of 129.08 with the help of 36 half-centuries and three centuries with a best score of 122 runs.
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Moin advised Babar Azam to counter the growing criticism with valuable performances in the game, which will again give him confidence.
“The ground is the only place where you can show your worth by playing well. Babar needs to become mentally strong and take the criticism positively; otherwise, he’ll keep sinking into problems and won’t be able to perform.” The former concluded.
