Herschelle Gibbs, the former South Africa batter, has taken a dig at the former Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, over his English skills. He pointed out the difficulty in handing him suggestions regarding his game due to communication issues. This is not the first such incident of cricketers past and present questioning Babar’s English-speaking abilities. While replying to a fan’s question about some batting tips for Rameez Raja to share with a struggling Babar, the former opening batsman said that due to language barriers Babar can’t sometimes get what others are trying to put across.
“Hey Gibbs, how about giving some suggestions to Babar Azam like you did back in 2021-2022 during PSL with Karachi Kings? I guess he won’t deny your interference this time,” read the tweet by the fan.
“Language is an issue with Babar … as you know, his English isn’t great, so it’s difficult to get points across to him,” Gibbs said.
Meanwhile, Kamran Akmal feels Babar’s decision to open with the bat is killing his confidence and, obviously, the team combination he has built.
“You’re making Babar an opener. With this decision, you are ruining the combination, and thus ruining Babar’s confidence,” Kamran said in his YouTube channel.
From Tests to ODIs, Babar has faced an increased load of scrutiny due to his inconsistency. However, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan maintains that Babar is simply a victim of his success.
“He has scored so many runs for Pakistan that we tend to expect him to get a hundred every time,” Rizwan was then a compass of ESPNcricinfo. “In that regard, he is still chipping in for us and doing a valuable job.”
“As such, as a captain, I expect a lot from him as well, although undoubtedly it adds to the pressure and I’m sure he’ll feel that,” Rizwan said.
“However, if you observe his innings in South Africa, he is still scoring runs. It is not, however, as if he’s got some sort of clear technical flaw, and yet he faces challenges. I have great confidence that he will be just fine.”
