Advice for Babar Azam? Steve Smith surprised by question at press conference


Australia captain Steve Smith was surprised when asked to offer a piece of advice to Pakistan star Babar Azam, who has been struggling for form and fluency in international cricket. Speaking to the press on the eve of Australia’s Champions Trophy opener against Ashes rivals England, Smith was questioned about what Babar needed to do to regain his confidence.

Smith sidestepped the query but backed Babar to find a way through this challenging phase in his career, adding that even the best players experience periods of poor form.

Babar Azam came up with a lacklustre performance in front of his home crowd in Karachi during Pakistan’s Champions Trophy 2025 defeat to New Zealand. Expectations were high for Pakistan in their first ICC tournament match at home in 29 years, but Babar’s sluggish knock (64 off 90 deliveries) was one of the key factors behind their 60-run loss. The Pakistan top order, including Babar, faced scrutiny for their lack of intent while chasing a steep target of 321.

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“Look, he’s a quality player. He has had a really good career so far. He’s got all the time in the world, the way he plays, he has got a solid technique, he’s got a good head on his shoulders, so yeah, he maybe hasn’t scored as many runs as he would have liked in the last little bit. We’re all guilty of that at stages throughout our careers, don’t worry, but yeah, look, he’s a wonderful player,” Smith said.

All eyes will be on Babar when Pakistan face arch-rivals India in a do-or-die match in Dubai on Sunday. Pakistan are in danger of an early Champions Trophy exit after their 60-run defeat to New Zealand dented their Net Run Rate. Another loss, this time to India, could knock them out of the eight-team tournament.

‘I AM NOT GOING TO ANSWER THAT’

Meanwhile, Smith fielded another quirky question when asked to predict the semi-finalists of the Champions Trophy.

While India and New Zealand have begun their campaigns with victories in Group A, South Africa dominated Afghanistan in the opening game of Group B in Karachi on Friday.

Australia and England, both struggling for form, will look to find early momentum when they clash in Lahore on Saturday.

“I’m not going to answer that (pick the top four),” Smith said.

“I think we have got eight really good teams that can win on any given day. So, I think that’s what makes this tournament really good. You’ve got to turn up on every day and play a really good game of cricket. So, I’m not answering that question, but the best four teams will be there at the end,” he added.

Australia head into the Champions Trophy off the back of a 0-2 series defeat in Sri Lanka. They have been hit by injury concerns, with full-time captain Pat Cummins, fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis—who retired before the tournament—all unavailable.

England, meanwhile, suffered a 0-3 ODI series defeat to India ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Published By:

Akshay Ramesh

Published On:

Feb 22, 2025