Captaincy pressure bothered Babar Azam, we'll see his best version now: Gautam Gambhir

Former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam struggled in the recently concluded ODI World Cup as his team failed to qualify for the semi-finals. With the bat too, he had an underpar tournament, scoring 320 runs in nine games with four half-centuries. The 29-year-old relinquished his captaincy following the World Cup debacle and that, according to Gautam Gambhir, is a good move as he will be able focus more on his batting now.

Babar will feature in the three-match Test series against Australia away from home. Pakistan have never won a Test series Down Under and there will be immense pressure on the team. However, Gambhir expects Babar to succeed as he will not be burdened with the pressure of captaincy.

“You’ll see the best of Babar Azam now. You will see a completely different Babar Azam. Before the World Cup, I picked Babar as the batter of the tournament. But the pressure of captaincy hampered his form with the bat. It’s because when you are the skipper and your team isn’t performing well, you can imagine how much pressure he was under,” Gambhir was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Babar Azam can become the best batter Pakistan has ever produced: Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir believes that Babar has a lot of time on his hands to prove his mettle in international cricket. The former cricket reckoned the Lahore-born can become the best batter Pakistan has ever produced as he will have no pressure of captaincy.

“You will see the actual Babar Azam that no one has seen. From now until the day he retires, you will see his actual ability. Babar has so much quality that he can go out and become the best batter Pakistan has ever produced. He has got 10 years with no pressure of captaincy,” Gambhir added.