Pakistan National Cricket Team red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie has come forward to defend the white-ball captain Babar Azam, who has been going through a lean patch for an extended period of time. Babar Azam has emerged as the best batter from Pakistan in the last few years and he has played some crucial knocks for his team. The 29-year-old, at a point in time, was on a record-breaking spree and he left the cricket world stunned with his performances.
However, that is now the past, and now at present, Babar Azam. is just struggling to score runs for his team across all three formats. It was expected that he would return to his best in the home Tests against Bangladesh National Cricket Team, but that hasn’t been the case and Babar Azam has continued to disappoint his fans across the globe.
Babar Azam faces criticism for his poor form in Test cricket.
Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam has been struggling for runs lately. His extended lean patch has prompted many fans, former greats, and experts of the game to question his place in the side.
Babar Azam endured a tough time in the ongoing red-ball series against Bangladesh at home. He bagged a golden duck in the first innings of the opening Test in Rawalpindi followed by a labored 22 off 50 balls. The right-hander couldn’t regain his form in the second Test as well, returning with scores of 31 and 11 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
In the first Test at a batting-friendly Rawalpindi track, Babar Azam returned with scores of 0 and 22 to face heavy criticism. Also, things didn’t change for him in the second Test at the same venue as he registered scores of 31 and 11.
In Tests, he has gone 16 innings without hitting a fifty, and overall, since January 2023, Babar Azam has scored just 317 runs from eight Tests at an average of 21.13, with his best score being 41. Babar Azam hasn’t been able to cross the 50-run mark in his last 16 Test innings. No wonder, he is drawing flak from all quarters.
Babar Azam’s recent failures have had a direct impact on the performance of the Pakistan National Cricket Team in international cricket, as they have been struggling to get going and have been extremely poor in the multi-nation tournaments. Despite all these struggles, Jason Gillespie has shown faith in Babar Azam, labeling him as a world-class player. Gillespie also expressed confidence in the 29-year-old returning to his best very soon.
Jason Gillespie positively supports Babar Azam sans his failure in 2 tests vs Bangladesh
Pakistan red-ball coach Jason Gillespie has thrown his weight behind Babar Azam, who is under fire due to his rut in the format, especially given the string of low scores in the home series against Bangladesh. Nevertheless, the 71-Test veteran expressed confidence in Babar returning to form.
The former Pakistan captain hasn’t scored a half-century in Tests since December 2022 and has now gone 16 innings without a fifty-plus score. The hosts’ underwhelming performance in the ongoing series against Bangladesh has largely been down to the right-hander’s outing, managing only 64 runs in four innings with a best of 31.
Speaking at a press conference after Day 4 of the second Test against Bangladesh, Gillespie observed how Babar hasn’t been able to convert his starts, but reckons is quite close to returning to form.
“Babar is a quality player, and he’s got a couple of starts. A bit like quite a few of our players, he hasn’t been able to convert starts. But Babar is a world-class player he’s very close, I feel it. I am really confident that we are going to see Babar scoring big runs very soon. He’s too good a player and looking forward to seeing him doing well,” Gillespie said.
After managing 274 in their first innings, Pakistan allowed Bangladesh to reach 262 despite having them on 26/6 at one stage. The home side were skittled for 172 in their second essay, leaving the opposition to chase down only 185. The Bangla Tigers are well placed at 42/0 after seven overs before bad light stopped play.
Jason Gillespie appreciates Rawalpindi pitch
Gillespie added that Pakistan do have the quality to succeed and will keep backing them no matter what. He stated:
“We are lacking in a few areas but hopefully, we will address those issues soon. I think there’s a lot of quality in that dressing room of Pakistan, and the boys are working really well. I know they can develop into match-winners for Pakistan. This Test match is evidence that our players can perform in Test cricket. I liked the conditions for this Test match, and all of them will have my back going forward. We have a game to win tomorrow, and we will try to give it our best shot.”
Going into day 5, Pakistan need all 10 wickets to win the second Test against Bangladesh and level the series. Having lost the opening Test by 10 wickets, Pakistan are on the verge of conceding the second Test as well. The visitors need 143 more runs to win with all 10 wickets intact in their second innings to seal the series 2-0.