File photo of Babar Azam.© AFP
The Pakistan cricket team is going through a lean patch and so is the case with its star cricketer Babar Azam. The batter has failed to make it count in the red-ball format in the past one and a half year or so. It was in December 2022 when Babar scored 161 against New Zealand in a Test and since then, he has struggled to get runs under his belt. Babar has scored only 320 runs in his last 15 innings. His poor performance in the format has seen the player getting a lot of flak. Amid the ongoing criticism of the star batter, Pakistan all-rounder Salman Ali Agha has come out in defence of the player.
"Babar Azam is a world-class player. As a cricketer, you go through these phases. He has scored consistently throughout the last five years. Soon, we will see him scoring big runs for Pakistan again," said Agha in the press conference after the end of play on Day 1 in the second Test against Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Afgha also pointed out that the critics should also focus on the rest of the team, certainly highlighting that a single member could not be held responsible for the team's poor performance.
"As a cricketer, you have such phases in your life. There are 10 other players in the team, so you should focus on them. It's fine if he's struggling. He will return to scoring big runs very soon," he added.
In the first Test of the ongoing two-match series, Bangladesh scripted history earlier this month as the side registered its first-ever Test win over Pakistan. The Bangla Tigers handed a 10-wicket defeat to Shan Masood and co. to register the massive first in their cricket history.
In the two innings of the first Test against Bangladesh, Babar scored 0 and 22. The fans on social media lashed out at the former Pakistan captain for his failure.