Sunil Gavaskar: “My request to [the] PCB is just leave Babar Azam alone. You will see him scoring runs very soon. Dropping him will slow down his confidence”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic India batsman Sunil Gavaskar has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not to drop batsman Babar Azam as it will “slow down his confidence”.
Gavaskar’s comments come after Azam was left out of Pakistan’s T20I squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
The 30-year-old also wasn’t picked for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh.
Azam’s form has been a real problem lately, but Gavaskar has backed the Lahore native to start “scoring runs very soon”.
Considering the amount of talent the Pakistan batsman possesses, the Indian icon stressed that the PCB should leave him alone and keep picking him in the national team.
“My request to [the] PCB is just leave Babar Azam alone. You will see him scoring runs very soon. Dropping him will slow down his confidence,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently took part in the 2025 Champions Trophy and amassed 87 runs in two games, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
Afterwards, he featured in a three-match ODI series against New Zealand and struck 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
Azam then captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and accumulated 288 runs in 10 matches, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
PSL 10 has now moved into the playoffs phase, but the Zalmi failed to qualify.
Once the tournament finishes on May 25, Pakistan’s T20I series against Bangladesh will start as the three matches will be held in Lahore from May 28 to June 1.
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
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub