Salman Butt: “Babar Azam’s downfall has nothing to do with his technique. The real problem lies in the thought process, which is now disturbed and distracted by changing his natural game”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has attributed Babar Azam’s recent struggles to his mindset rather than any technical flaws in his batting.
He noted that Azam faced so much criticism over time that it forced him to drift away from his natural game, focusing instead on hitting sixes and boosting his strike-rate.
Azam’s strike-rate has been a major topic of discussion in T20Is and it was allegedly the reason behind his temporary exclusion from the team before he made his comeback during Pakistan’s home series against South Africa.
“Babar Azam’s downfall has nothing to do with his technique. The real problem lies in the thought process, which is now disturbed and distracted by changing his natural game (hit sixes, increase strike-rate, your strike-rate is too low etc),” Salman was quoted as saying on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“You needed to help him in his downfall, but you took him to this level that every normal person is now trolling him and using harsh words for him.”
Azam missed Pakistan’s recent tour of Sri Lanka, which comprised three T20Is, as he is representing the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League (BBL).
So far, the 31-year-old has made 202 runs in 11 matches, which includes two fifties, at an average of 22.44 and a strike-rate of 103.06.
Pakistan will return to action later this month as they will take on Australia in three T20Is in Lahore from January 29 to February 1.