Babar Azam
Babar Azam (Credits: Twitter)

Babar Azam has impinged himself as one of the leading modern-day batsmen and he has done that through sheer grit, drive, passion, attitude, and of-course truckload of talent. The 25-year-old is the only batsman apart from the legendary Virat Kohli to be in the top-ten rankings for a batsman in all three formats.

Babar was always a wonderful white-ball batsman but he has improved by leaps and bounds in the past 18-24 months in the longest format of the game. Since the start of 2018, Babar Azam is averaging close to 67. His last seven Test innings before the Old Trafford read-104, 97, 8, 102*, 60, 100*, 143.

Ramiz Raja Points Out A Techinical Flaw In Babar Azam's Batting
Babar Azam (Photo-Twitter)

Azam was once at the height of his powers on the opening day of the Old Trafford Test as he put on a masterclass in stroke-making, adding another half-century in his kitty. Babar, however, failed to convert it into a hundred as he fell on his overnight score of 69 after James Anderson lulled him into a sucker ball and duly obliged by edging it straight to Joe Root in the slips.

Also Read- ‘Big Player’ Babar Azam Has Replaced Joe Root In Fab 4: Michael Vaughan

‘Babar Azam’s head is not locked with the shoulder’- Ramiz Raja

Ramiz Raja Points Out A Techinical Flaw In Babar Azam's Batting
Babar Azam plays a cover drive. (Credits: Twitter)

Ramiz Raja, former Pakistan captain, has pointed out a technical flow in Babar Azam’s batting, something he feels that the batsman will have to work on if he wants to be successful at the Test level. According to Raja, Babar was facing the ball with open shoulders which he thinks could prevent him from playing his drives

”When that is happening it means that your head position isn’t right. The head is not locked in with the shoulder. When you open yourself up in that manner, facing the outswinger becomes problematic. This means that your drives will stop connecting,” Ramiz Raja said on his Youtube channel.

Ramiz Raja also spoke about Azhar Ali’s dwindling form in the past couple of years. The Pakistan Test captain was dismissed for a six-ball duck in the first innings and he has now registered eight single-digit scores [three ducks included] in his last 10 overseas innings. Ramiz Raja thinks that Ali is over-analyzing his game, adding that he needs to keep himself relaxed and learn when to switch off and on as captain.

“He is over-analyzing all aspects whether it is batting or captaincy. He should be more relaxed. It is important to switch on and off for a captain. You have to be turned on when the action is happening but you have to take a bit of time out when the action stops. He puts too much pressure on himself.” Ramiz Raja added.

Also Read- Nobody Is Talking About Babar Azam Because He Is Not Virat Kohli, Says Nasser Hussain