Former England captain expresses concern over Babar Azam's form amid Pakistan's struggles

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has voiced his concerns about Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam, acknowledging that the cricketer is enduring a severe dip in form, which is impacting his team's performances. Babar, who is widely regarded as Pakistan's best player, has now gone 18 innings without a fifty-plus score, raising questions about his ability to perform under pressure.

In an interview with Sky Sports after England's dominant victory in the first Test against Pakistan, Hussain analyzed Babar's ongoing struggles, suggesting that the issue may be psychological.

"Their (Pakistan) best player - a world-class player - Babar Azam is horrendously out of form. It's nine Test matches without a half-century - on these pitches! Maybe that's psychological, with everything that he's been through, giving up the white-ball captaincy," Hussain said.

Babar's last fifty-plus score came in December 2022 when he struck 161 runs against New Zealand. However, since then, he has managed just 366 runs in 20 innings at an average of 20.33. In the first Test against England, Babar's scores of 30 and 5 across two innings on a favorable batting pitch further highlighted his struggles.

Hussain emphasized the mounting pressure on Babar, particularly given the heightened expectations in Pakistan.

"In this part of the world, if you are Babar Azam and you go two games without a half-century or a hundred, the pressure builds, let alone eight, nine Tests. The pressure is on him, definitely," he said.

The former England captain also pointed out Pakistan's challenges in the bowling department, particularly their lack of express pace.

"You wouldn't say any of their three seamers that they are playing at the moment are express pace. That's a dangerous combination. You have a top order that's failing in the second innings and you're not sure what pitch to prepare that suits your bowling attack," he said.

In the first Test, Pakistan fielded fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Aamer Jamal, all of whom struggled to trouble England's batters. Each of the pacers conceded over 100 runs in the innings, exposing Pakistan's vulnerabilities in the pace department.

Hussain also highlighted Pakistan's deficiency in high-quality spinners, recalling the days when the team boasted world-class spinners like Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Mushtaq Ahmed.

"Spin hasn't seemed to be much of a threat. Where are they with their spinners? Historically, we would have played against Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Mushtaq Ahmed. They've always produced great mystery spinners," he concluded.

Pakistan played just one specialist spinner, Abrar Ahmed, in the first Test. Abrar was expensive, conceding 174 runs in 35 overs, and was later admitted to the hospital due to high fever.

England thrashed Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The second Test will also be held at the same venue.