Ahmed Shehzad opines on Babar Azam’s batting position for Champions Trophy
'If his confidence was high then such an experiment might have worked,' says Shehzad
Pakistan’s Test batter Ahmed Shehzad on Monday, gave his verdict on Babar Azam’s batting position for the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to run from February 19 to March 9.
Shehzad, while talking on his YouTube channel, highlighted the star batter’s previous performances in his preferred batting position of number three and emphasised that the right-handed batter should bat at the said spot.
“I personally believe that ODI is the most-suited format for Babar Azam because his game is natural in this format and he does not need to improvise much. So, over the years, it has suited him well, especially at the number three position,” said Shehzad.
“Although ODI cricket too has evolved over the years since we lose wickets at the top so, Babar at number three, used to stabilise the innings and that was his role.
“And now he has been promoted from number three to an opener, which should not have been done because he does not have many runs under his belt in the recent past. If his confidence was high then such an experiment might have worked.
“But currently, his form is not that good and yet you are changing his batting position, which in my opinion is unjust.”
For the unversed, Babar Azam, who is yet to score a century since his 151-run knock against Nepal in August 2023, is under a lot of scrutiny due to his inability to score big across formats.
The right-handed batter, who was promoted to open the innings alongside returning Fakhar Zaman for the tri-nation ODI series and the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 to follow, could not turn the tide in his favour as he only managed meagre scores of 10, 23 and 29 in three innings.
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