‘Babar Azam needs a break from cricket’ - Mudassar Nazar says Pakistan batter mentally scarred

Former Pakistan all-rounder Mudassar Nazar has stated that ace Pakistani batter Babar Azam is mentally scarred and needs a break from cricket. Nazar has offered advice to Babar Azam to help him get out of his batting slump.

Babar Azam has not scored a century in any format of the game since his 151 against Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup tournament. His long century drought extended to 62 innings in international innings.

Additionally, he played three consecutive innings of 50, 58, and 81 runs, scoring three scores of more than 50 runs in the Test series. He only scored 45 runs in two games during the most recent home series against the West Indies, though, and was once again unsuccessful in the tri-series.

Mudassar Nazar, who expressed his deep unhappiness over Babar's absence from first-class cricket, calling it "absolutely criminal," has pushed him to return to his best through domestic competition.

“Babar Azam hasn’t played a first-class game in the last three to four years and keeps going on international tours. Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah don’t want to play first-class cricket. The entire squad, except the newcomers, hardly ever plays. If your top players aren’t playing, how does the standard improve? You improve only by playing with and against better players. And that is missing in Pakistan,” Nazar said in an interview with PakPassion.

Babar Azam scored 29, 64, and 23 runs in the recent ICC Champions Trophy 2025 for Pakistan.

“Babar is not out of form”—Mudassar Nazar advises batter to take a break from cricket.

In recent years, Babar, who was considered by many to be among the best hitters of his generation, has been declining. His ability to modify his game to meet contemporary standards has been called into question because he has appeared to be a shell of his former self in the majority of his appearances.

Babar Azam was recently dropped from the Pakistan T20I squad for the tour of New Zealand.  A veteran of 76 Tests for Pakistan, Nazar felt Babar needed some time away from the game.

“Babar is not out of form, but he has a mental scar ever since he was removed from the captaincy. He needs to move away from cricket for three to four months, shape up, come back to first-class cricket, and score three or four centuries. Then he has got about 7-8 years left in him,” Nazar stated.

Mudassar Nazar's remarks serve as a wake-up call for both Babar Azam and Pakistan, who are struggling to meet the standards of the modern game.

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