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Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has backed Babar Azam to stage a turnaround but feels that he will have to score a few hundreds to retain his place in the white-ball squad squad. Babar showed flashes of his old self on the Australia tour in the ODIs but two low scores in T20Is put him under the scrutiny again. Akhtar feels that Babar will have to impress the new white-ball management under Aqib Javed with a few centuries in ICC CHampions Trophy 2025.
"He is our star player and has my backing but with the new management and the new thinking, he will have to show performances. Otherwise, he will not be considered for ODIs and T20Is. Babar needs to be at his best in the Champions Trophy. He will have to score three match-winning hundreds; otherwise, the path is going to be difficult for him," Shoaib Akhtar said on PTV Sports.
Babar was rested for the ongoing limited overs series against Zimbabwe. Their next tour is of South Africa where they will play three T20Is, as many ODIs and two Tests. While Babar was dropped from the Test squad during home series against England, he is likely to get his place back for South Africa tour.
Javed was impressed by how Babar batted in Australia. He backs senior players to deliver but indicated that they are replacable as well.
“Look, cricket is not about individuals. In the end, whatever we do as selectors, the idea is for Pakistan to win. How Babar batted in Australia, everybody saw. We are not targeting anyone. We know that Babar, (Mohammad) Rizwan, and Fakhar (Zaman) have loads of experience and have delivered in the past," Javed told the media as quoted by PTI.
Babar's drought of match-defining knocks
Babar's last ODI hundred came against Nepal in Asia Cup 2023. In T20Is, his last fifty came against Ireland earlier this year. In the red-ball format, it has been nearly two years since Babar has registered a fifty-plus score. His last century came against New Zealand in 2022.
Babar's all-format record vs South Africa
Babar does not have a good record against South Africa in Tests. He has scored 343 runs from five Tests at an average of 34.30 including three fifties. In limited-overs formats, Babar has a stellar record against the Proteas. The 30-year-old has scored 573 runs from 11 ODIs at an average of 63.66 including one century and four fifties. In T20Is, he has 416 runs from 11 innings at an average of 37.81 including one century and two fifties.
