Babar Azam flopped with the bat in the tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa. In three matches, the star Pakistan batter made 62 runs and with that, his form is a major concern leading to the Champions Trophy, slated to begin on February 19. Since the ODI World Cup, the 30-year-old hasn’t been in a good rhythm, having been dropped out of the Test squad against England. In limited-overs cricket, Babar managed a couple of good starts but failed to capitalize on them.
Reflecting on his form, former cricketer Mohammad Hafeez advised the cricketer to bat at number three in the Champions Trophy. He has played five matches as an opener and scored 88 runs at an average of 17.60 and following which, Hafeez named three cricketers who can replace Babar at the top of the order.
“1- Shaan Masood 2- Imam-ul-Haq 3- Abdullah Shafique Take anyone as opener & let Babar Azam play at no 3 in Champions trophy. Make things easier for everyone,” Hafeez said in his post on X on Friday.
Regular opener Saim Ayub has been ruled out of the marquee tournament, which forced Babar to move to the top of the order. Captain Mohammad Rizwan acknowledged that it had created a disturbance in the batting order and noted the reason behind shifting Babar from number three to the opening slot.
Related Stories
Mohammad Rizwan reflects on decision to bat first in tri-series final ahead of Champions TrophySteve Smith expects Australia spinner to pass bowling tests after being reported for actionWPL 2025: GG vs RCB records highest ever aggregate total in tournament history
“His (Saim Ayub’s) absence created a huge disturbance, and we went for the safety of Babar Azam, who’s our best batter. At the top, if the ball swings, he can control it. When Abdullah Shafique got out early in South Africa, Babar had to deal with the new ball anyway. He was coping with the seam and swing and enabling us to attack at the end. So, we thought why not go for our most technically solid player to open, rather than throwing someone else in at the deep end,” Rizwan said on Thursday.
