Herschelle Gibbs: “Was the first time I was working with him so for me it was a more an observation than anything else but what I’ve seen since then is he hasn’t changed his approach and still plays with the same tempo and same shots”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former South Africa cricketer Herschelle Gibbs admitted that Pakistan batsman Babar Azam hasn’t changed anything since he worked with him four years ago.
Gibbs coached the Karachi Kings during the 2021 Pakistan Super League (PSL), also known as PSL 6.
Azam played for the Kings at that time and actually finished as the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 554 runs in 11 matches, which included seven fifties, at an average of 69.25 and a strike-rate of 132.53.
In the four years that have passed, Gibbs pointed out that Azam “still plays with the same tempo and same shots”.
“Was the first time I was working with him so for me it was a more an observation than anything else but what I’ve seen since then is he hasn’t changed his approach and still plays with the same tempo and same shots,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently featured in Pakistan’s ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, where he amassed 62 runs at an average of 20.66.
He was then involved in the 2025 Champions Trophy and made 87 runs in two games, which included a top score of 64, at an average 43.50.
Pakistan lost to New Zealand and India, which led to them being eliminated in the group stage of the competition.
The men in green finished winless as their final group stage game against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain.
Next up for Pakistan will be a tour of New Zealand, which will consist of five T20Is and three ODIs that will be played 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
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