‘Stop criticism’: Gavaskar wants ex-Pakistan cricketers to support Babar

Indian great Sunil Gavasker has jumped in support of Babar Azam and asked former Pakistan cricketers to do the same.

Babar Azam has been struggling for form in all-forms of cricket and hasn’t scored century since August 2023.

However, Gavasker believes that dip in Babar’s form is temporary as he would be back scoring big runs for Pakistan soon.

“This is true, that he [Babar] has tons of talent and I want, because he is a naturally talented player there will always be expectations, but when he doesn’t perform, I think you all need to support him. If you continue to criticize him he would get demoralize,” said Gavasker while speaking with Basit Ali.

He shared an example of India, how they tackled out-of-form Virat Kohli a few years ago.

“See, here in India, about two to three years ago Kohli wasn’t scoring runs, he hadn’t scored a century for a year or more, but we never question about his ability,” he said.

“We all were thinking that luck is not with him he is making mistakes. I want all of you, especially those who represented Pakistan, should support Babar. You guys need to lift him up,” he added.

When asked about Babar’s promotion as opener in the one-day format, Gavasker said that he is not in favour of the decision.

“For T20Is, he is absolutely the best option, because you need give best batter a chance to face most deliveries, but for ODIs, I think, number three is the best spot for him,” he said.

He went on to explain that in the 50-over format, the ball stops swinging after 10 to 12 overs, and with a batsman of Babar’s quality can exhale after that.

“The similar situation, he got out against India. If he would have batted at number three and came out to bat in the 12 to 14^th over, the situation would have been very different,” he said. “He has a lot of shorts, which could prove to be beneficial for Pakistan.”

“I don’t know why he was promoted as opener, I cannot tell. This is what your selection committee or management is going to respond,” he added.