Pakistan red-ball coach, Jason Gillespie, is supporting Babar Azam who has been facing scrutiny due to his poor performance in this edition especially with regard to the series against Bangladesh which saw him earn low scores. However, the 71 Test veteran showed faith that Babar will bounce back and regain his form.
The ex captain of Pakistan hasn’t hit a half century in tests since December 2022 and now is on 16 innings without fifty plus runs. So far in the current series against Benagladesh, the right hander’s performance is blamed for the home side’s below par display so far as he could only make 64 runs in four innings with best being 31.
Speaking at a presser after day four of the second test match against Bangladesh,Gillespie noted that Babar has been unable to convert his starts into big scores but believes he is close enough to getting back into his original shape.
“Babar is a quality player, and he’s got a couple of starts. A bit like quite a few of our players, he hasn’t been able to convert starts. But Babar is a world-class player he’s very close, I feel it. I am really confident that we are going to see Babar scoring big runs very soon. He’s too good a player and looking forward to seeing him doing well,” Gillespie said.
When Bangladesh were on 26/6 at one point during their first innings, Pakistan was able to dismiss them for 262 runs despite already having made 274 themselves.
In their next batting turn however, they were bowled out for just 172 which meant Bangladesh needed only 185 runs to win this match.Bangladesh bowled poorly and as such managed no wickets after 42/0 were seen displayed under difficult light conditions.
“I was pleased with the conditions for this Test match”- Jason Gillespie
Gillespie noted that Pakistan has the quality to succeed and he will continue to support them regardless. He mentioned:
“We are lacking in a few areas but hopefully, we will address those issues soon. I think there’s a lot of quality in that dressing room of Pakistan, and the boys are working really well. I know they can develop into match-winners for Pakistan.”
“This Test match is evidence that our players can perform in Test cricket. I liked the conditions for this Test match, and all of them will have my back going forward. We have a game to win tomorrow, and we will try to give it our best shot.”
As Day 5 begins, Pakistan needs all 10 wickets to win the second Test against Bangladesh and equal the series.
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