Former Pakistan captain and batter Mohammed Yousuf has come out in support of Babar Azam, who has been struggling with poor form and a string of low scores in the ongoing Test series against Australia. The former Pakistan skipper has been going through some tough times since the start of the Asia Cup 2023.
During the second day of Pakistan’s first innings at the Boxing Day Test, Babar Azam was dismissed for just one run off seven deliveries. This came after he was removed by Cummins in the second innings of the first Test. In the previous match, Babar had scored 21 and 14 in his two innings during Australia’s 360-run victory in Perth, which gave them a 1-0 series lead.
Pakistan legend Mohammad Yousuf, who holds the record for most runs in a calendar year in Tests, took to his social media account to share a message of hope for former captain Babar Azam amid his poor performance with the bat in Australia. He urged Azam to stay strong and positive, saying,
Be strong now because things will get better,it might be stormy now, but it can't rain forever. pic.twitter.com/zGjYWV1jNJ
— Mohammad Yousaf (@yousaf1788) December 27, 2023
“Be strong now because things will get better, it might be stormy now, but it can’t rain forever,” Mohammad Yousuf Wrote on his X-Handle.
Babar Azam’s poor performance hurt his team’s success in both the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup. During the Asia Cup, he scored 207 runs in four innings, but 151 of those runs were against Nepal. In the ICC Cricket World Cup, Babar had moderate success, struggling to find the right balance between scoring runs and maintaining the right tempo. This lack of inspiration meant that the team failed to progress to the knockout stage.
In 2019, Babar Azam was appointed as the captain for both white-ball forms, and in 2020, he was made the captain for Tests as well. However, he was unable to make an impact as a leader for the Pakistan team. Throughout the ODI World Cup 2023, his captaincy and tactics came under scrutiny, with much speculation in the media about his role with the Pakistan team. Eventually, he stepped down from his position as captain.
Despite his struggles as a captain, Babar Azam has been a standout player for Pakistan in all formats. He is the backbone of Pakistan’s batting lineup, which heavily relies on his consistency in all three formats. He is unmatched in his consistency across all platforms and would hope to regain his form in international cricket.