AB de Villiers treats Babar Azam like his own son, offers fatherly advice
Published - 15 Feb 2025, 06:31 PM | Updated - 15 Feb 2025, 11:35 PM
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Former South African cricket legend AB de Villiers has extended his support behind Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam, who is currently struggling with the bat. Babar Azam’s struggles in the recent tri-nation ODI series have reignited debates about his form ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Well, AB de Villiers had hailed Babar Azam’s achievements as a batter and emphasized that a slump is just a phase for any great player. He pointed out that Babar, who holds the record for being the fastest to score 6,000 ODI runs alongside Hashim Amla, is not a small thing.
AB de Villiers backs Babar Azam amid his form slump
However, the legendary batter believes that the burden of captaincy may have affected Babar’s consistency, as he has also been struggling to score big runs in Test cricket as well. With Pakistan’s captaincy now handed over to Mohammad Rizwan, the Proteas legend believes that Babar has the perfect opportunity to focus entirely on his batting and again rule the pitch.
AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel, “Babar Azam is in good form; he just needs to keep doing what he's doing. He’s the fastest to 6,000 runs alongside Hashim Amla, so he must be doing something right. We all know he has lost a bit of form in Test cricket over the past few seasons, and the added pressure of captaincy has played on his mind.”
Just focus on scoring runs: AB de Villiers' advice to Babar Azam
The former South African captain advised the former Pakistan captain to maintain his natural rhythm and trust his abilities to regain his form. Notably, Babar was promoted to the top order in the tri-nation ODI series, and he could manage only 62 runs in three innings at home.
De Villiers further added, “For him, it’s about maintaining his rhythm and focusing on getting the job done. It’s another big tournament, and now that the pressure of captaincy is gone, he can let Rizwan handle that burden and support him, especially with the bat. Just focus on scoring runs. That’s the same advice I give to my son when he’s frustrated about not making a team or not batting where he wants. My message to Babar is simple: keep scoring runs.”
Read Also: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Mohammad Rizwan unhappy with Faheem Ashraf’s selection
AB de Villiers praises Mohammad Rizwan for his impressive batting in the Tri-nation ODI series
Meanwhile, De Villiers also lauded the current Pakistan captain, Mohammad Rizwan, for his excellent performances in the recent Tri-nation ODI series, including a match-winning unbeaten 122 against South Africa in a record chase of 352 runs. Notably, South Africa’s Matthew Breetzke finished as the leading run-scorer in the series with 233 runs in just two matches.
The South African batting legend signed off by saying, “Captain Mohammad Rizwan looks to be in good form. He scored quite a few runs throughout this tournament—good signs.”
Notably, the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is all set to kick off on February 19 with the Men in Green taking on the Black Caps in the tournament opener in Karachi.
