Adam Gilchrist: “abar is not known to have a power-packed game. He is not going to hoick across the line and slog one over the boundary for a six. He needs to be proactive. He can’t just think run a ball”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Legendary Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist has said that Pakistan star Babar Azam does not “have a power-packed game” and “needs to be proactive” with the bat.

Azam’s big-hitting ability and strike-rate have been key talking points in his T20 career, particularly in recent times.

Gilchrist added that the 31-year-old cannot afford to score at a run a ball and rely on his batting partner to maintain a higher scoring rate.

“Babar is not known to have a power-packed game. He is not going to hoick across the line and slog one over the boundary for a six. He needs to be proactive. He can’t just think run a ball and put all the responsibility on his batting partner to get the job done,” he was quoted as saying by Geo Super.

Azam recently captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and played a huge role in leading the team to the title as he was the top run-scorer with 588 runs in 11 games, which included two centuries and three fifties, at an average of 73.50 and a strike-rate of 145.90.

Currently, he is part of Pakistan’s team for the ongoing Test tour of Bangladesh, where the men in green find themselves 1-0 down after suffering a 104-run defeat in the 1st Test in Mirpur.

Azam did not play the 1st Test due to a left knee injury, but returned to the playing XI for the 2nd Test, which began on May 16 in Sylhet.

Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi

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