Shan Masood on out-of-form Babar Azam: ‘There’s no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather’

“I think he’s one of the best batsmen in the world. I’m nobody to deny him a future. He has every quality to be one of the greatest batsmen in Test cricket,” Shan said on the BBC’s Stumped podcast.

“He’s always near the top in the rankings. Sometimes, people just need a break. Personally, I think this break will benefit him greatly, and he’ll come back a stronger player.

“There’s no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather. He’s played a lot of cricket, gone through a lot, and he’ll always be one of Pakistan’s key batsmen.”

Pakistan’s next Test assignment is a two-match series against South Africa in December.

The scrutiny around Babar Azam’s form has intensified with each successive failure at the crease. The right-hander hasn’t scored consistently in 18 innings, and since the start of 2023, his average has dropped below 21 across nine Tests.

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja recently commented that Babar’s slump in form is not due to technical flaws but rather a mental aspect.

“I think it’s more about his temperament in Test cricket. When his form slumps, it takes him longer to make a comeback in red-ball cricket compared to white-ball,” Ramiz said.

“Technically, he doesn’t stay still against balls pitched on a back-of-a-length, so he needs to be a bit more side-on. Lately, he’s been getting out caught behind to balls moving away. He also has some struggles against spin. While he bats at No. 4 in Tests, in white-ball cricket, I don’t think spin is as much of an issue. But as I mentioned, it’s more about adjusting his mental game rather than his technique.”