Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has identified a technical flaw in Babar Azam’s batting, saying the seasoned batsman’s open right shoulder is affecting his ability to judge the line and movement of deliveries.
Babar has struggled to convert promising starts into substantial scores in the ongoing ODI tri-series involving Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka, scoring 45, 34 and ten in his three innings.
Yousuf pointed to Babar’s shoulder alignment as a key area of concern, suggesting the batsman’s current stance has affected his ability to play deliveries that he once handled with authority.
“Rather than keeping his left shoulder aligned with the line of the ball, he continues to play with his right shoulder open. As a result, he struggles to judge the line and swing of the delivery. This is really unfortunate for a player of his standard. He used to hit these shots through extra cover. The BabarAzam we all once knew and admired,” Yousuf wrote on his X account.
Babar, widely regarded as one of Pakistan’s leading batters in limited-overs cricket, has faced scrutiny over his inability to turn starts into match-defining innings.
With the tri-series providing an opportunity to regain form ahead of future international assignments, Babar will be under pressure to address the concerns and rediscover the fluency that once made him a consistent source of runs for Pakistan.
With the ODI World Cup looming Babar will need to overcome his technical deficiencies as the country will direly need his massive contributions during the global event in South Africa where batting will be more challenging.
