Zaheer Abbas: “I have this impression that either Babar has an ego issue or is too shy to seek advice from his seniors in overcoming his current situation”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas believes it is possible that Babar Azam “has an ego issue”, which is why he has been struggling to end his poor run of form.
Another alternative, according to Abbas, is that the 30-year-old is simply “too shy to seek advice from his seniors”.
Regardless of the reason, the 77-year-old knows Azam needs to start scoring runs on a regular basis again.
During Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand, Azam scored 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
He then proceeded to captain the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and finished with 288 runs in 10 games, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
“I have this impression that either Babar has an ego issue or is too shy to seek advice from his seniors in overcoming his current situation,” Abbas was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“I vividly recall how former Indian batsman (Mohammad) Azharuddin had sought guidance from me on India’s tour to Pakistan in 1989-90. He was struggling to find runs and I told him to change his batting grip. That really helped him regain confidence and improve his performance.”
Following PSL 10, Pakistan faced Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, but Azam was not picked in the squad.
The men in green won the series 3-0.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub