Rohan Gavaskar says calling Babar Azam a one-dimensional player is a little harsh because he is a quality-quality player

3 years AGO
Virat
Virat Verma Cricket expert
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Rohan Gavaskar says in the first innings, his strike rate is about 125, the second innings his strike rate is about 137 which shows that he can change gears

Former India player Rohan Gavaskar backed the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, who has been criticized for his low strike rate in the shortest format of the game and he feels that Babar is “not a one-dimensional player”, labeling the 27-year-old as a quality player.

Former India player Rohan Gavaskar backed the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, who has been criticized for his low strike rate in the shortest format of the game. 

Despite consistently scoring runs, Babar’s form has disintegrated since the start of the Asia Cup last month. However, he scored a century in the ongoing T20I series against Pakistan at home, his form, in general, has not impressed the critics. 

But Gavaskar feels that Babar is “not a one-dimensional player”, labeling the 27-year-old as a quality player.

“To call him a one-dimensional player is a little harsh because he is a quality-quality player. And if anything, the numbers suggest that he is not one-dimensional. The fact that he can change gears and you look at his numbers from the first innings to the second innings. In the first innings, his strike rate is about 125, second innings his strike rate is about 137 which shows that he can change gears. I think it is a mental mindset with Babar. Fear of failure. And when I say fear of failure, I don’t mean fear of failure as a batter,”

Gavaskar said on SPORTS18’s daily sports news show ‘SPORTS OVER THE TOP’.

While bringing up something similar, Gavaskar feels that Babar takes extra pressure to stay till the end of the match, which plays a massive role in his overall strike rate.

“I could be wrong here; he feels that the Pakistan team revolves around his batting. So, when he is batting first, he feels that he’s got to stay long because if he fails the team might fail and that can sometimes shackle a player. And that’s what happens to him when they are batting first. When they are batting second, when the target is in front of him, he is just phenomenal because he knows how he needs to pace his innings. He knows at what strike rate he needs to go and how he needs to sort of chase those targets down. When he has got that target in front of him, he is just phenomenal. So, for me to call him a one-dimensional player, is a little harsh. But I think sometimes it’s just the mental mindset which he may need to change when they are batting first,”

he added.

Pakistan will face India in their opening game of the T20 World Cup 2022, in Australia. 

India Squad for World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh. Standby Players: Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar

Pakistan Squad for World Cup: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir. Standby Players: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani.