BBL teammate backs Babar Azam to find form ahead of T20 World Cup

SYDNEY : Australia batter and Big Bash League (BBL) teammate Josh Philippe is backing Pakistan stalwart Babar Azam to find his best form prior to the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Babar has been struggling for touch in recent times, with the 31-year-old having only scored two half-centuries at the T20I level since the most recent T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies towards the middle of last year. This year in T20Is, he has made just 206 runs in eight innings at an average of 34.33, with a poor strike rate of 114.44, with two half-centuries.

The dip in form has also seen Babar drop down to new lows in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings, with the former number-ranked T20I batter currently in 31st place on the latest rankings, which is a worrying sign for the veteran less than two months out from the start of next year’s T20 World Cup.

Babar is currently in Australia preparing for the BBL with a stint for the Sydney Sixers in the domestic Big Bash competition, and his time in Australia has not been fruitful so far, with scores of two and nine in two outings.

But Australia batter-keeper and Babar’s current teammate at the Sixers, Philippe, thinks it is only a matter of time before the Pakistan star goes on a hot streak and finds the form that he is capable of.

“He is a world-class player,” Philippe said of Babar as quoted by ICC.

“It is probably challenging coming to Australia and these bouncy surfaces. But a couple of games under the belt, a few more sessions, he will be absolutely fine.”

“His record is outstanding. I have no doubt he will be in the runs next game.”

Philippe himself is trying to impress national selectors as he attempts to put his own case forward for a place in Australia’s squad for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

The 28-year-old appeared in good touch during white-ball fixtures against India at home in October and November and has made a strong start to his Big Bash campaign with a team-high innings of 46 in the Sixers’ most recent fixture against Adelaide.

Those runs came for Philippe batting at number three, and the hard-hitting right-hander is happy to continue in that role so Babar can try and find form as an opener.

“I am happy to play whatever role is required,” Philippe added.

“I am looking forward to hopefully putting on a significant partnership with (Babar) and learning from him out in the middle. He is a really nice guy and we are certainly enjoying having him around,” he concluded. (ANI)