Babar Azam has made just 216 runs in seven innings (Twitter)
Even as Pakistani hopes rest immensely on Babar Azam's capable muscles and all-round game in contemporary times, Ramiz Raja seems to have identified a chink in the stalwart's armoury, exposed by opposition regularly at the ICC World Cup 2023.
Ramiz said Babar is "jittery" against spin at the beginning of his innings and is therefore unsurprisingly struggling to face the tweakers in the ongoing tournament. Spinners have not only maintained a leash on Babar's scoring options but also dismissed him frequently, going past him five of the seven times the batter has been out at this World Cup.
Babar's persistent failures have accentuated the scrutiny over his head and his captaincy future amidst Pakistan's lacklustre campaign. The 1992 champions have won just three of their seven matches with the skipper and dependable asset crumbling under pressure to make only 216 runs in his seven innings at an average short of 31.
Ramiz Underlines Babar Azam's Spin Struggles
Babar's latest dismissal also came against spin during Tuesday's (October 31) league-stage encounter against Bangladesh. The experienced head was dismissed by Bangladesh off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz after a painstaking stint for his 16-ball 9 at one-down in the Pakistani run-chase.
"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," Ramiz told Star Sports.
"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."
"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."
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