Pakistan batter Babar Azam is going through an extended lean patch across all formats of the game. He hasn’t hit an international century since August 2023.

No wonder, Babar is drawing backlash from the fans, experts and former cricketers lately. He has been particularly targeted by the critics after his failure in the recently held ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at home.

The right-hander looked far from his best in the showpiece tournament. He played a turtle-paced knock of 64 (90 balls) against New Zealand, and followed it with 23 off 26 balls against arch-rivals India as Pakistan suffered a group-stage exit from the marquee event.

Babar is currently in the midst of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025 season, where he is performing poorly for the Peshawar Zalmi. He has scored just 0 and 1 in his first two matches, with Zalmi languishing at the bottom of the points table.

Amid his struggles, Pakistan’s legendary cricketer Zaheer Abbas has said that Babar Azam is either an egotist or too shy too seek advice from former players, who perhaps can help him get back to form by sorting out the technical flaws in his batting.

Zaheer, the only Asian batter to score 100 first class centuries, also suggested that Babar needed to sit down and talk to his seniors.

"I think either Babar has an ego issue or is too shy to seek advice from his seniors in overcoming his current situation," Zaheer said, before recalling instances of Pakistani and Indian players seeking advice from each other while going through a bad patch.

“I think in 2016 Younis Khan spoke to Muhammad Azharuddin and went on to score a double hundred in England. I also recall how Azharuddin had sought guidance from me on India's tour to Pakistan in 1989-90," he stated.

"He was struggling to find runs and I told him to change his batting grip. Saeed Anwar sought Sunil Gavaskar's advice."

Zaheer pointed out that Babar's stance at the crease is a rather close one today compared to a more open stance before, and he has little time to adjust himself to the pace of the ball.

"I think because of this he is struggling to time his shots and is getting out early," he added.

Babar Azam is currently working with Inzamam-ul-Haq at Peshawar Zalmi. Recently, Inzamam extended his support Babar, saying that every top batter goes through a rough time in his career. He recalled how he himself after the 2003 World Cup had even thought about retiring but was told by Saeed Anwar not to give up.

"That hundred in the Multan test against Bangladesh turned it around for me," he recalled.

Inzamam also shared a tip for Babar on how to finish matches. "Babar, you already have all the cricket shots. But to win more matches, you need to wait for the right bowler and the right moment. Don't try to hit every ball – be patient and smart," he said.

(With PTI Inputs)