Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt He has shared his views on the growing pressure surrounding Babar AzamShedding light on why the star batsman is facing such intense criticism from fans and former cricketers.

Butt said the situation is not just about Babar’s recent slump in form, but highlights a much deeper problem within the Pakistan cricket team.

After a disappointing 2024 T20 World Cup, Babar’s poor form continued in the ongoing two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home.

Salman Butt slams Pakistan’s over-reliance on Babar Azam amid their current slump in form

The right-hander scored just 22 runs in the first Test and then managed just 31 runs in the first innings of the ongoing second and final Test against the Tigers.

PakistanBabar’s white-ball captain has not scored a fifty in his last 15 Test innings, which has piled more pressure on Babar, who is now facing a lot of criticism for his long-standing poor form.

Well, Butt admitted that Babar is undoubtedly Pakistan’s best batsman and most consistent player of the decade but the problem lies in the lack of support around him.

He highlighted how in the past, when top players were struggling, there were always a few others who could step up and win games, effectively protecting the team’s performance.

However, Babar’s case is different. The former Pakistan captain said that Babar has become the backbone of Pakistan’s batting line-up, single-handedly carrying the team’s hopes in every match.

“There is no one like him who can match him”

Salman But told an Urdu sports channel: “There are two reasons (why Babar is facing so much pressure). He is undoubtedly Pakistan’s best batsman at the moment and, I think, the most consistent player of the decade. But the problem is that when a player struggled earlier, he was more out of form than Babar.

But with him, there were 4-5 other players who used to win matches, so everyone’s respect used to be guarded and covered. Now the problem is that Babar has scored so much, that he is the only one who scores most runs for Pakistan. There is no one with him who can match him.”

Now, with no other match-winner emerging alongside him, Babar’s every knock is under scrutiny.

The former captain further noted that his prolific run-scoring has created such high expectations that any failure feels like a disaster, not just for him but for the entire team.

Salman Butt reveals the harsh truth about Pakistan’s crisis

Salman Butt stressed that Pakistan’s over-reliance on Babar has exposed a glaring weakness – the lack of proper player development.

Salman Butt added that Pakistan’s focus on power hitting and aggressive play has left them without technically sound players who can anchor the innings when Babar falters.

Salman Butt said the harsh reality is that when Babar fails to deliver, the entire team’s chances of victory plummet and the white-ball captain becomes a scapegoat.

Salman Butt further explained, “Now when he is not scoring, it seems like Bakar is not doing anything. Babar has accustomed people to scoring so many runs that they now want him to score a lot of runs in every innings. Now there is no other player who will win matches with him in the Pakistan team.”

“You can see that the day he doesn’t run, you know that Pakistan team will not win the match. So that’s the problem with Pakistan – they haven’t developed their players. They have tried to develop everyone on the basis of powerful hitting, on the basis of playing openly. And now they don’t have players with the right techniques,” Salman Butt concluded.

He always speaks sensibly ❤️#BabarAzam image.twitter.com/yHwGXrZyXA

—Abdullah Zafar (@Arain_417) August 31, 2024