'He hasn’t changed,' Herschelle Gibbs on Babar Azam’s struggles

Former South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs did not hold back in his criticism of star batter Babar Azam ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, set to take place in Pakistan and the UAE from February 19.

Gibbs, who previously worked with Babar as the head coach of Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), took a dig at the former Pakistan captain’s English proficiency while responding to a fan on social media. 

He also claimed that Babar is reluctant to adapt his game despite receiving suggestions that could enhance his performance.

On Thursday, February 13, a fan urged Gibbs to offer Babar advice to help him overcome his recent struggles with the bat. 

The 50-year-old responded on platform X, stating that communicating with Babar is challenging due to the language barrier.

“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 wrote.

The former opening batter further opined that Babar’s batting style and tempo have remained unchanged since his stint with Karachi Kings, despite his evolving role in international cricket.

“It was the first time I worked with him, so for me, it was more of an observation than anything else. But what I’ve seen since then is that he hasn’t changed his approach—he still plays with the same tempo and the same shots,” he said.

For the unversed, the 30-year-old has been struggling with consistency in recent months. 

While he scored 58 and 81 in the second Test against South Africa, his performance in the home Test series against the West Indies was underwhelming, registering scores of 8, 5, 1, and 31.

His struggles extended to the ODI format, managing only 10 and 23 runs in matches against New Zealand and South Africa, followed by a 29-run knock in the tri-nation ODI series final. 

Notably, Babar has not scored a century in ODIs since his 151-run innings against Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup in Multan.