Pakistan head coach confident of Babar Azam's return to top form in all formats

Babar Azam has struggled with form, failing to hit a half-century in his last 18 innings

PHOTO: PCB

Pakistan's red-ball head coach, Jason Gillespie, has expressed confidence that former skipper Babar Azam will soon rediscover his form and contribute heavily across all three formats.

Babar, dropped ahead of the second and third Test against England in Multan after a prolonged lean spell, struggled with the bat, failing to register a half-century in his last 18 innings. His recent performance in the first Test saw scores of 30 and 5 on a high-scoring pitch where over 1,300 runs were amassed in the first two innings.

Kamran Ghulam, who replaced Babar at the crucial No. 4 spot, made an instant impact by scoring a century under pressure in the second Test. Despite this, Gillespie remains confident that Babar will bounce back.

Speaking to Sky Sports Cricket, the former Australian legend hailed the 30-year-old as one of the finest batters in world cricket.

"Well again, I. I cannot answer that because I'm not a selector. But what I will say is that Babar is a fine player. I think he's one of the best players in the world. And, yeah, he had a bit of a lean, lean patch, but I don't think, but I don't think many great players around the world have never had a lean patch," Gillespie said.

"I'm very confident. Babar Will will be back scoring a lot of runs for Pakistan in all formats. He's just too good a player. He works really, really hard in his game. He's very precise with his preparation and what he needs to do to get ready. I fully expect him to have a huge role, going forward in the next little while for Pakistan," he added.

As the three-match series between Pakistan and England stands level at 1-1, the deciding third Test began on October 24 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. England opted to bat first, with Jamie Smith (89) and Ben Duckett (52) anchoring the innings as they reached 242/8 by the Tea break on Day 1.

Pakistan’s spin duo, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, who shone in the second Test, once again troubled the English batters, taking four and three wickets respectively. Leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood also chipped in with the crucial wicket of Smith, as Pakistan aims to clinch the series in front of a home crowd.