Matthew Hayden: “Way too much of that from Babar, just hitting the field. Can he be brave enough to challenge his game and think outside the square”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic Australia opener Matthew Hayden has advised Pakistan batsman Babar Azam to “be brave” and take a more aggressive approach to his batting sometimes.
His comments came after Azam’s performance in Pakistan’s opening game against New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The 30-year-old scored 64 runs off 90 balls, which included six boundaries and a six.
Hayden felt that Azam was batting too slow and kept hitting the ball to the fielders. Instead of constantly doing that, he noted that the Lahore native should “challenge his game and think outside the square”.
“Way too much of that from Babar, just hitting the field. Can he be brave enough to challenge his game and think outside the square,” he was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam ended the Champions Trophy with 87 runs in two matches at an average of 43.50.
The men in green could not make it out of the group stage as they lost to New Zealand and India, while their final game against Bangladesh was washed out.
After the Champions Trophy, Pakistan embarked on a white-ball tour of New Zealand and lost the T20I series 4-1, which Azam wasn’t picked for.
However, he was involved in the three-match ODI series, where he amassed 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
Next up for Azam will be the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he will captain the Peshawar Zalmi.
PSL 10 will be held from April 11 to May 18.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Babar Azam (captain), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore
- Diamond: Corbin Bosch, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris
- Gold: Abdul Samad, Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana
- Silver: Arif Yaqoob, Najibullah Zadran, Max Bryant, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem
- Emerging: Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat
- Supplementary: Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph
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