Babar Azam told to get married immediately to come out of poor form; reminded of his old-age

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has given a piece of weird advice to star batter Babar Azam. Basit Ali, who is a well-known cricket expert nowadays, has advised Babar Azam to get married soon if he wants to improve his performance.

Babar is going through the worst patch of his international career. The 29-year-old had a poor Test series against Bangladesh where he scored just 64 runs across four innings at an average of 16. His poor results hurt Pakistan as they were whitewashed 2-0 by Bangladesh.

Babar has faced a lot of scrutiny for his disappointing form from Pakistan's former cricketers and experts. His form in Test cricket has been particularly disappointing. His last Test fifty came in December 2022 against New Zealand in Karachi.

Also read: India squad for ICC World Test Championship Final 2025

Basit Ali advises Babar Azam to get married

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali asked Babar Azam to talk to the parents and get married.

He believes that Babar will be a different person after marriage. He requested Babar's parents to get him married.

"Babar Azam, talk to your parents and get married. He will be a completely different man after that. I know how a player feels when he is not performing well. I request Babar's parents to get him to marry," Basit said.

"Like an elder brother, I want him to tell him Shaadi kar le bhai, ab umar zyada ho gayi hai teri (Get married brother, you are now old enough)," he added.

Pakistan's poor run continues

Babar Azam's poor form has coincided with Pakistan's disappointing performance in all the formats of the game.

The Men in Green endured a tough time in the T20 World Cup 2024 where they bowed out of the tournament after the group stage and even failed to qualify for the Super Eight stage.

If this was not enough, Pakistan went on to lose a Test series to Bangladesh despite playing at home.

Pakistan have a great record and had not lost a Test match to Bangladesh before this series. But a determined Bangladesh team played out of their skins to stun the home side.

“This is a wake-up call for Pakistan cricket" - Basit Ali

Meanwhile, Basit Ali also termed this a wake-up call for Pakistan cricket. He believes that Pakistan have learned the lesson after losing to Bangladesh which will benefit them in the future.

“This is a wake-up call for Pakistan cricket. They can't go lower than this. Now, it's the time to rise and open your eyes. If you still don't open your eyes after losing to Bangladesh, play the Test series only against Nepal and Afghanistan. Pakistan have learned a lesson and it will benefit them," the former Pakistan batter said.

Pakistan will now face England in a three-match Test series next month. The series will be important for their chances to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year.

The Men in Green are likely to face a tough test from a strong England side who are in good form currently.

England whitewashed Pakistan 3-0 the last time they traveled here. Pakistan will hope their star batter Babar to return to form quickly which can help to improve their chances against England.