Babar Azam Suggested This By Former South African Captain Ahead Of Champions Trophy 2025

The recent form of Pakistan’s former captain, Babar Azam, has been a huge concern for the national side before the start of the Champions Trophy 2025, which begins on February 19 at the National Stadium in Karachi.

The biggest issue for the right-handed batter is his failure to build on his starts. In both the last two clashes against South Africa and New Zealand, Babar began his innings well but could not stretch it to a big score.

Babar Azam’s recent ODI form in home tri-series

Pakistan’s batting department depends a lot on their veteran batter. When Babar Azam gets into his act in the middle overs, it allows the other players to fire aggressive runs with the stick and use the platform in the presence of a set batter.

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However, that hasn’t clicked in the previous few games. The last-minute injury of their opening batter, Saim Ayub, that he picked during the second Cape Town Test in South Africa, delayed Pakistan’s squad announcement for the eight-team competition.

The selectors brought Fakhar Zaman into the squad but decided to open with Babar, a place that hasn’t suited the Karachi-born in the 50-over format. Against New Zealand at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Azam failed to find the smooth touch with the blade, thanks to 10 runs in 23 deliveries at a strike rate of below 50.

However, he looked in better form against South Africa in the second encounter by thumping 23 runs in 19 deliveries, shouldering on four boundaries at a strike rate of 121.05. Babar Azam stretched it to 29 runs in 34 balls during the tri-series final against the Kiwis, but none of these contributions inspired the management to keep him in the opening position.

Ab De Villers supports Babar Azam before Champions Trophy 2025

The former South African captain, Ab de Villiers, has come out in support of the star batter ahead of the eight-team tournament. During a live interaction, a fan asked the former wicket-keeper batter to provide some advice to Pakistan’s successful number three.

“Babar Azam is in good form; he just needs to keep doing what he's doing. He’s the fastest to 6,000 runs alongside Hashim Amla, so he must be doing something right." De Villiers expressed during the live interaction on his YouTube channel.

“We all know he has lost a bit of form in Test cricket over the past few seasons, and the added pressure of captaincy has played on his mind.” He added.

The veteran also claimed that Azam won’t have the captaincy pressure under Mohammad Rizwan, who has taken up the leadership responsibilities of the two white-ball formats.

“For him, it’s about maintaining his rhythm and focusing on getting the job done. It’s another big tournament, and now that the pressure of captaincy is gone, he can let Rizwan handle that burden and support him, especially with the bat.” The Pretoria-born explained.

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“Just focus on scoring runs. That’s the same advice I give to my son when he’s frustrated about not making a team or not batting where he wants. My message to Babar is simple: keep scoring runs.” The former RCB batter addressed.

Babar Azam under focus in Pakistan’s home ICC event

Babar Azam will face New Zealand in Karachi, where he carries an ODI average of over 50 with three fifties and a couple of centuries. When the entire side moves to Dubai for the second encounter against India, the former captain of the Green Brigade will be confident, thanks to his average of 55.83 in six ODI innings.

The defending champions' final group-stage fixture will be against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Stadium, where he has enjoyed an average of 83.75 in ODIs, thanks to 335 runs in just five innings.