The Pakistan cricket team’s embarrassing defeat in the first Test of the series against Bangladesh sent shockwaves across the country, with questions being raised both on the level of the current national team and the pool of players that is being created through domestic cricket. While the entire set of players received criticism from fans and former cricketers, there was a special focus on Babar Azam, with the batter’s poor performance being an intense topic of chatter again. However, Pakistan legend Ramiz Raja isn’t pleased to see Babar being singled out.

“It seems the entire nation does not have a problem with anything except the form of Babar Azam. Unfortunately, what happens is when you lose a match and you have not scored runs and if you are Babar Azam, then you become a headline – How did we lose? What did he do? What was his contribution? And then this is the era of social media. Anybody can criticize and ridicule anyone, this should be discouraged as much as possible,” Ramiz said on his YouTube channel.

Ramiz also urged Babar to avoid social media and focus on his game, if he is to return to form. Giving his 100 percent in the nets and on the pitch during the match also remains incredibly important.

“Cricket is in our blood but don’t know for how long if we continue to lose matches like this in Test cricket. Fan following increases with wins and fans identify themselves with success stories. Babar Azam has had a famous success story. There is no doubt that he has been a big player in all three formats,” he said.

“So what does he have to do? First, avoid social media. Second, stay in the moment. When you are not able to score runs, it becomes a mental game and you start second-guessing. So you start worrying and that worrisome look is evident on Babar’s face. He is trying hard, so frustration will be there. What’s important is how he is batting.”

“You lose your frame because you aren’t spending much time on the crease. If you are playing forward, commit fully, if on the back foot, then use the crease. Practice hook and pull shots a lot, because then you focus on the ball a lot,” he concluded.