Babar Azam’s Absence In Pakistan’s Training Grows Concern Before Champions Trophy 2025 Clash vs India

Ahead of Pakistan’s mouth-watering clash against India in the Champions Trophy 2025, the entire focus for the green brigade is on their former captain and the current opening batter, Babar Azam. The veteran went through a tough time in the opening game of the event against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Babar received so much criticism in the last fixture for his slow knock of 64 runs in 90 runs at a strike rate of around 71 that murdered their chance of chasing 321 runs against the Kiwis.

Babar Azam’s Champions Trophy 2025 clash vs New Zealand

The first innings were quite ordinary for the Pakistan side as they leaked 321 runs in 50 overs despite getting the Kiwis at 73/3 in the 17 overs. Both Tom Latham and Will Conway countered the spinners in the middle overs to celebrate their twin centuries, while Glenn Phillips smashed 61 runs in just 39 deliveries at a strike rate of 156.41 to provide them the momentum in the end.

The onus was on Babar Azam to play a spectacular knock in the chase, especially in the absence of Fakhar Zaman, who injured himself in the first innings and came out to bat at number four. But Babar went into a shell from the start and hardly looked to put pressure on the opponent bowlers.

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Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan failed with scores of six and three, respectively, while Fakhar cracked 24 runs in 41 deliveries. Salman Ali Agha brought life to the chase with his 42-run knock in 28 deliveries at a strike rate of 150.

Many fans and pundits criticized Babar for his defensive knock even after getting to a half-century, as he lacked fire in the entire knock. It was Khusdil Shah’s 69 runs in 49 balls at a strike rate of 140.82, thanks to 10 boundaries and one six that decreased the losing margin to 60 runs.

Babar Azam misses Pakistan’s training session for this reason

Pakistan’s star batter, Babar Azam, was absent from the side’s training session on the eve of the India clash. There was no clarity from the management on the batter’s availability for the eight-team tournament, even as the country’s cricket board chief, Mohsin Naqvi, urged the side to win at any cost.

In Naqvi’s presence, Azam was the only player who decided to take a day off from the practice session. The interim head coach of the side, Aaqib Javed, who addressed the media after the practice, did not give any specific reason for Azam’s absence, stating that Babar Azam opted for rest.

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Naqvi met the Pakistan side at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium as the player went through intense training for nearly two hours. He met captain Mohammad Rizwan and head coach Aqib Javed and discussed the cricketing matters with them. The captain and coach had a long chat with both Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf on the eve of the contest.

Babar Azam’s performance against India

Babar Azam has not enjoyed India so much in the ODI format, with just 218 runs in seven innings at an average of 31.14 and a strike rate of around 75, thanks to one half-century at the best score of 50.

When it comes to his performance at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the right-handed batter has grabbed 335 runs in six ODI innings at an average of nearly 56 and a strike rate of 82.72, shouldering on two fifties and one century. He hopes for a special knock against the arch-rivals.