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'Please listen now': Yousuf's blunt advice to Babar Azam amid batting slump

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Mohammad Yousuf believes the struggling batter should bypass domestic tournaments like the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and instead train at overseas academies in England, Australia, or South Africa. Yousuf warned that further failures on the home circuit could inflict more damage on the 32-year-old's fragile confidence. Meanwhile, former teammates like Waqar Younis and Imad Wasim have defended the batter against mounting external scrutiny, emphasizing an unprecedented level of criticism alongside a lack of support from teammates.

Key points

  • Persisting with domestic first-class cricket risks further damaging the batter's confiden…: Persisting with domestic first-class cricket risks further damaging the batter's confidence during his current slump.
  • Babar faces growing pressure on his white-ball place following his exclusion from Pakista…: Babar faces growing pressure on his white-ball place following his exclusion from Pakistan's national T20I setup.
  • Former national players remain split on his struggles, with some citing an unprecedented…: Former national players remain split on his struggles, with some citing an unprecedented level of media and social criticism.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Former

Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has urged

Babar Azam to travel to Australia or South Africa and work with specialist coaches to address the technical flaws in his batting, warning that playing first-class cricket without fixing those issues could further dent the star batter's confidence.

Yousuf believes Babar needs focused, specialised coaching to rediscover his best form, rather than relying solely on domestic cricket to prepare for international assignments.

Babar's struggles were once again under the spotlight during Pakistan's run chase against Sri Lanka in the tri-series final on Saturday. Although Pakistan went on to win the tournament, Babar failed to make a significant contribution.

"He should be going to South Africa or Australia and just focusing on working on his batting now. That will help him," Yousuf said in a post on social media on Sunday.

The former Pakistan captain also questioned Babar's decision to turn out in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he is scheduled to represent Lahore from November 3, ahead of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka beginning on November 9.

'I said this four years ago,…

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