Gary Kirsten reveals his specific batting plan for Babar Azam

Pakistan's new white-ball coach, Gary Kirsten, has voiced his support for the national team's skipper, Babar Azam, amidst negative criticism from Pakistan supporters.

In a recent interview with TalkSport Cricket, Kirsten praised Babar's exceptional performance as a cricketer and highlighted the significant role he plays for the team. 

He emphasized the importance of relieving Babar from unnecessary pressure and enabling him to showcase his natural talent without constraints.

"I have been in touch with Babar. He has done remarkably well as a cricketer and sort of carries a lot of the weight of that team on his shoulders. What we would try to do as a coaching staff is to lift that a little bit and to realize he's just one of a whole group of players and then he can just free himself up to play with his natural talent. We certainly saw that in the last game against Ireland and I think he played an outstanding inning and hopefully we see kind of a lot more of that Babar Azam rather than the one that feels that he has to be contributing all the time to a team," Kirsten said.

Kirsten also detailed his strategy to create a team dynamic where multiple players can step up and deliver match-winning performances. 

"That's not fair on any player but I think that we can unlock that and feel like there's a big group of guys that can make match-winning contributions, especially in T20 cricket, that will take a lot of pressure off him and I think he's happy to be back as a captain, so I am looking to working in that relationship with captain and coach," he added.

It is worth noting that the Men in Green secured a 2-1 victory in the three-match T20I series against Ireland. 

This victory is significant as it marks Pakistan's first bilateral T20I series win since December 2021, when they defeated West Indies.

Their next series before the World Cup 2024 is against England, where they are scheduled to play a four-match T20I series starting from 22nd May.