“I will tell Babar Azam just one thing” - Sunil Gavaskar’s advice for Pakistan star during 2025 Champions Trophy

Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar has pointed to a technical glitch in struggling Pakistan batter Babar Azam's stance amid his poor run over the past year and a half, including the ongoing Champions Trophy. The 30-year-old has averaged under 40 across formats in each of his last three seasons from 2023 to 2025.

Babar is yet to score a century since his brilliant 151 against Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup opener. The stylish batter has come under massive criticism for his performances in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Babar scored a 90-ball 64 that derailed Pakistan's run-chase of 321 against New Zealand in the tournament opener. He followed that with only 23 in the must-win outing against India as Pakistan suffered a second consecutive defeat to open their Champions Trophy campaign.

Talking about Babar's struggles on Basit Ali's YouTube channel, Gavaskar said [Via TOI]:

"If you ask me, I will tell Babar just one thing. Right now, his stance is quite spread out. If he can reduce the width between his feet, then two things will happen: one, when your feet are spread out, then you face difficult going on back foot and front foot but when you are more balanced (with feet less wide), then you also gain a bit of height, while you are a bit down with feet spread out."

He added:

"So you can judge the bounce and movement of the ball a bit better when you are more upright. And an opening batter needs that height. If he tries to do this, then I believe the run-making ability he used to have will return, and the whole world will enjoy that, not just the Pakistanis....The whole world wants to see him play shots like the flick through mid-wicket he produced (in the match against India)."

Babar's failures have meant Pakistan being eliminated from semifinal contention of the Champions Trophy after their back-to-back losses.

"No lack of talent, but they’re not confident" - Sunil Gavaskar

Pakistan have endured a sorry home Champions Trophy campaign [Credit: Getty]

Sunil Gavaskar has pointed to a lack of belief and confidence in the Pakistan unit as the reason behind their early exit in the ongoing Champions Trophy. It was their third straight first round exit in ICC events, following the disastrous 2023 ODI and 2024 T20 World Cup campaigns.

"Earlier, we used to say natural talent involved the West Indies. Then post-1980s, we used to say about Pakistan. They had the mentality. I think the major flaw that we saw in the Pakistan team was simply a lack of confidence. It’s a question of self-belief. There’s no lack of talent, but they’re not confident," said Gavaskar [via Uccricket].

He added:

"There’s a sort of confidence that was formerly reserved for all the previous teams, and you don’t see that in the Pakistan team. It appears as if they are somehow hesitating to plunge into the pitch, that they are hesitating."

Pakistan's final Group A game against Bangladesh tomorrow (February 27) will now be inconsequential with both teams already eliminated from semifinal contention.