Former Pakistan batsman and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has urged star batsman Babar Azam to stay away from social media as he continues his fight against poor form. Babar scored a duck in the first innings and made just 22 runs in the second innings as Pakistan slumped to a ten-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in the first Test and are trailing in the series by 1-0. He has scored just 275 runs in his last seven Tests and 13 innings at an average of 21.15, with the best score of 41.
Speaking recently on his YouTube channel, Ramiz said that Babar has become a “headline” in this era of social media because he has not been able to score runs. (PAK vs BAN: Pakistan rules out Shaheen Afridi for second Test against Bangladesh, know why here)
He called for discouraging mass criticism and attacks on the internet. He also urged Babar to “live in the moment”, taking note of the visible concern that Babar is going through as a batsman.
“It seems like the entire nation has no problem with anything except Babar Azam’s form. Unfortunately, what happens is that when you lose a match and you haven’t scored any runs, and if you are Babar Azam, then you become the headline: How did we lose? What did he do? What was his contribution? And this is the age of social media. Anyone can criticise and ridicule anyone, this should be discouraged as much as possible,” Ramiz said.
“Cricket is in our blood but we don’t know how long it will last if we keep losing matches like this in Test cricket. Fan following increases with victories and fans identify with success stories. Babar Azam has had a famous success story. There is no doubt that he has been a great player in all three formats,” he said.
“So what does he need to do? First, avoid social media. Second, live in the moment. When you can’t score runs, it becomes a mind game and you start doubting yourself. Then you start worrying and that worried look is evident on Babar’s face. He is trying really hard, so the frustration will be there. The important thing is how he is batting,” the former cricketer concluded.
Ramiz said that in the last few innings he played, he was being bowled off the inside edge and that means his “hitting angles are not right.”
“You lose your structure because you don’t spend much time in the crease. If you’re playing forward, commit to it as much as possible, if you’re playing defensively, then use the crease. Practice hook shots and pull shots a lot, because then you’re concentrating a lot on the ball,” he concluded.
In the first Test match, Bangladesh put Pakistan to bat first, who scored 448/6 declared, thanks to centuries from Mohammed Rizwan (171) and Saud Shakeel (141). Pakistan then conceded 565 runs in Bangladesh’s first innings, thanks to contributions from Mushfiqur Rahim (191), Shadman Islam (93) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (77).
Bangladesh, which had a lead of 117 runs, bowled out Pakistan for just 146 runs in their second innings, allowing them to reach a target of just 30 runs, which Bangladesh managed to achieve easily without losing any wicket. The second Test will begin on Friday in Rawalpindi.
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