Babar Azam Mocked For His Poor English Skills By Ex-PSL Coach Herschelle Gibbs

Babar Azam is famous for his incredible batting skills, but his communication skills, especially in English remain a challenge for the premier cricketer. This drawback of the Pakistani cricketer was exposed by Former Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings coach Herschelle Gibbs on Twitter (now X).

Babar is opening the innings for Pakistan in the ongoing ODI tri-series at home. The right-handed batter scored 10 (23) and 23 (19) in his first two matches against New Zealand and South Africa, respectively. He hopes to rediscover form in the tri-series final before the Champions Trophy.

Wiaan Mulder dismissed Babar for 23 in Pakistan's chase of a daunting 353 against South Africa. However, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha combined for a record-breaking 261 runs, leading Pakistan to victory with one over remaining. Babar last scored a century in May 2023.

His English Isn’t Great: Herschelle Gibbs on Babar Azam

On Thursday, February 13, a fan asked Herschelle Gibbs to give Babar Azam some advice, as he had during his coaching stint with Karachi Kings. Gibbs jokingly remarked that the language barrier makes it difficult to communicate successfully with Babar.

"Language is an issue with babar .. as you know his English isn’t great so it’s difficult to get points across to him," Gibbs wrote on X.

Language is an issue with babar .. as you know his English isn’t great so it’s difficult to get points across to him

— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) February 12, 2025

Aside from his English, Herschelle Gibbs chastised Babar Azam for being unwilling to improve and reinvent his game. According to Gibbs, Babar has played at the same tempo and with the same shots for years, with no substantial modification or creativity.

Gibbs clarifies his remarks

"Was the first time I was working with him so for me it was a more an observation than anything else but what I’ve seen since then is he hasn’t changed his approach and still plays with the same tempo and same shots,” he added.

Was the first time I was working with him so for me it was a more an observation than anything else but what I’ve seen since then is he hasn’t changed his approach and still plays with the same tempo and same shots.

— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) February 12, 2025

Babar Azam compared with former Pakistan greats thanks to record across formats

Babar Azam is regarded as a generational talent in Pakistan. He has 14,448 runs from 312 matches across forms, including 31 centuries and 99 half-centuries. However, he has not scored a century in his last 63 innings, raising worries despite his great overall record in all formats.

Azam is on course to become Pakistan's all-time highest run-scorer in international cricket. He still trails Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has scored 20,580 runs in 499 matches. If he continues to thrive in the coming years, he has the potential to break Younis Khan's record of 42 centuries and become Pakistan's all-time century leader.

Also Read: Pakistan Pacer Fined And Handed Demerit Point After On-field Altercation In Tri-series