Abdur Rauf: “Babar hasn’t been at his best over the past year, which puts additional pressure on Pakistan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan pace bowler Abdur Rauf believes Babar Azam is putting additional pressure on the national team since he has struggled to score runs for the last 12 months.
Azam has been trying to break out of his rough patch, but has not been able to put up big scores on a consistent basis.
During the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, he only managed to make 62 runs in three games at an average of 20.66.
Following this, he was involved in the 2025 Champions Trophy and accumulated 87 runs in two matches, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
He then took part in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand and ended up making 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
“Babar hasn’t been at his best over the past year, which puts additional pressure on Pakistan,” Rauf told the Times of India.
Currently, Azam is captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and has amassed 170 runs in seven matches, which includes two half-centuries, at an average of 34 and a strike-rate of 114.09.
PSL 10 began on April 11 and will conclude on 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