"Against spin upfront when he starts the innings" - Ramiz Raja points out glaring weakness in Babar Azam's batting

Ramiz Raja recently spoke about current captain Babar Azam's struggles against spinners at the start of the innings as the only glaring weakness in the batter's repertoire.

Still ranked World's No.1 batter in the latest ODI rankings, Babar has endured a disappointing 2023 World Cup by his high standards. The 29-year-old has scored only 216 runs in seven games at an average of 30.85 and a strike rate of under 78, including being dismissed five times by spinners.

In Pakistan's latest win against Bangladesh, Babar tried to muscle Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a maximum over long-on only to hole out for nine runs.

In a conversation with Star Sports, Ramiz Raja felt Babar's inability to play the sweep shot has led to the struggles against spin early in his innings.

"If you want to find fault in his batting, it’s his batting against spin upfront when he starts the innings. He is not fluent as he is when he is facing pace. I don’t know whether it’s his footwork whether it’s in his mind, or whether he doesn’t have too many options because he doesn’t play the sweep shot. On slow pitches, you need to play the sweep shot," Raja said.

Raja further added that after being dismissed each time Babar has tried to be aggressive against spin, which has had a detrimental effect on the batter's confidence.

"Every time he has been aggressive, he’s gotten out as well. Against Afghanistan, he hit a massive six and then got out just at the wrong time. So the confidence builds and it goes flat," Raja added.

Babar Azam has also been at the center of the leaked WhatsApp chat controversy and all the chatter about his captaincy tenure possibly ending after the ongoing World Cup.

Due to his indifferent batting form and mediocre captaincy, the Men in Green are in a precious position at fifth on the points table with three wins in seven games.

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"All he needs to do is work his way through to a hundred" - Ramiz Raja

Babar has struggled to convert his starts into three figures for a while.

Ramiz Raja further stated that scoring a century by overcoming all types of bowling should help Babar Azam regain his confidence with the bat.

The Pakistan skipper has not reached three figures in his last ten ODI innings since his magnificent 151 against Nepal in the opening game of the Asia Cup. During that period, Babar has scored only three half-centuries and averages a paltry 27.20.

"All he needs to do is work his way through to a hundred where he faces pace, spin, and feels comfortable about his role. He is not entirely out of touch, he is still middling the ball, but it’s that when he begins his innings against spin, he looks just a little bit jittery," said Raja.

Overall, Babar still boasts impressive ODI numbers with over 5,600 runs at an average of 56.25, including 19 centuries in 115 games. Pakistan kept their slender semi-final hopes alive with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Bangalesh in the previous encounter.

They will take on New Zealand in a potential do-or-die game in Bengaluru on Saturday, November 4.