‘Language is an issue with babar’ - Herschelle Gibbs mocks Babar Azam’s English

Herschelle Gibbs didn't mince his words while criticising Babar Azam ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. The former South African batter also mocked Babar's English while replying to a fan on social media.

Gibbs has worked closely with Babar during his tenure as the head coach of Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The former said that Babar is reluctant to bring about changes in his game, even when they can help him improve and score more runs. Gibbs also highlighted the language barrier which comes as an impediment for the former Pakistan skipper.

Babar has struggled with the bat across formats of late. In the ongoing tri-nation series, he has registered scores of 10 (23) and 23 (19) against New Zealand and Pakistan, respectively.

On Thursday, February 13, a fan requested Gibbs to give Babar some advice to overcome his lean patch with the willow. Gibbs said that it is difficult to put points across to the star batter due to the language barrier.

"Language is an issue with Babar .. as you know his English isn’t great so it’s difficult to get points across to him," Gibbs wrote on X.

Gibbs opined that Babar is still playing with the same style and tempo he had during his time at Karachi Kings.

"Was the first time I was working with him so for me it was a more an observation than anything else but what I’ve seen since then is he hasn’t changed his approach and still plays with the same tempo and same shots," Gibbs noted.

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Babar will look to get back among the runs when he takes the field in the tri-nation final between Pakistan and New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi on Friday, February 14.