Azhar Mahmood: “He is a world-class player, the day he scores runs, Pakistan will score big runs. We don’t have any doubt on his abilities”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood believes the day Babar Azam “scores runs, Pakistan will score big runs”.
Azam has been trying to break out of the rough patch he currently finds himself in and has shown flashes of his best lately.
During the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, he made 62 runs in three games at an average of 20.66.
The 30-year-old performed better in the 2025 Champions Trophy, accumulating 87 runs in two matches, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
Even though Azam’s disappointing form has persisted for a long time, Mahmood insisted he doesn’t have any doubts about his abilities.
“Babar opens in T20s, it is not a new thing for him. If you see [the] South Africa series, Babar went into bat in the first over in almost all the games. He is a world-class player, the day he scores runs, Pakistan will score big runs. We don’t have any doubt on his abilities,” he was quoted as saying by PakPassion on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan lost to New Zealand and India in the Champions Trophy, which brought their campaign to an end in the group stage.
Their final match against Bangladesh was washed out, meaning they went winless throughout the tournament.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a white-ball tour of New Zealand, which will consist of five T20Is and three ODIs that will be held from March 16 to April 5.
Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir