Ex-Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja decodes the reason behind 'Jittery' Babar Azam's poor form
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has failed to deliver with the bat since reaching India for the Cricket World Cup in 2023. Though Babar has gotten off to fine starts on some occasions, he has failed to make it big on every occasion. Ramiz Raja, who is one of the best cricketers Pakistan has ever had, donned a pundit's hat as he analyzed the reasons behind Babar's poor form with the bat. Ramiz feels it's against spin where Babar has looked the most 'jittery'.
In a chat, Ramiz Raja said, “If you want to find fault in his batting, it's his batting against spin upfront when he starts the innings. He is not as fluent as he is when he is facing pace. I don't know whether it's his footwork, whether it's in his mind, or whether he doesn't have too many options because he doesn't play the sweep shot. On slow pitches, you need to play the sweep shot.”
He also said that “every time he has been aggressive, he's gotten out as well. Against Afghanistan, he hit a massive six and then got out just at the wrong time. So the confidence builds, and it goes flat.”
While giving advice to Babar Ramiz, he further said, "All he needs to do is work his way through to a hundred where he faces pace, spins, and feels comfortable about his role. He is not entirely out of touch; he is still middling the ball, but it's that when he begins his innings against spin, he looks just a little bit jittery.”