Pakistan’s head coach Jason Gillespie has backed Babar Azam to return to his previous best sooner rather than later. Azam returned with scores 0 and 22 in the first Test match against Bangladesh and failed to deliver the goods for the team. The right-hander had the rub of the green as he was dropped for naught by Litton Das in the second essay but he could not make the most of his second life. Eventually, Pakistan was stunned by 10 wickets in the opening Test.
The flamboyant batter has been struggling to find his form in the recent past and as a result, he has dropped to ninth spot in the ICC rankings for Test batters.
Furthermore, Azam could not turn the tables in the second Test match as he could only manage scores of 31 and 11 against the Tigers. In fact, it has been more than 650 days since Azam has scored a Test fifty.
“Babar is a quality player, and he’s got a couple of starts. A bit like quite a few of our players, he hasn’t been able to convert starts. But Babar is a world-class player he’s very close, I feel it. I am really confident that we are going to see Babar scoring big runs very soon. He’s too good a player and looking forward to seeing him doing well,” Gillespie said in the press-conference after Day four.
The former Australian fast bowler feels they are lacking in a few areas but he was happy with the pitch conditions for the second Test after a featherbed was on offer in the opening Test.
“We are lacking in a few areas but hopefully, we will address those issues soon. I think there’s a lot of quality in that dressing room of Pakistan, and the boys are working really well. I know they can develop into match-winners for Pakistan. This Test match is evidence that our players can perform in Test cricket. I liked the conditions for this Test match, and all of them will have my back going forward. We have a game to win tomorrow, and we will try to give it our best shot.”
Pakistan need all 10 wickets on the final day to level the series.
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