Pakistan’s red-ball head coach Azhar Mahmood has advised Babar Azam to play more domestic cricket to strengthen his game in the longer format.
Speaking after Pakistan’s eight-wicket defeat to South Africa in the second Test on Thursday, Azhar said Babar lacks first-class experience and needs more domestic cricket to adapt to the pressure of Test matches.
“Many of our players have limited first-class experience,” Azhar told reporters at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
The former all-rounder added that players can only learn to handle pressure by playing domestic cricket regularly.
“If you look at our players like Babar Azam or Abdullah Shafique, both have not played much first-class cricket. Abdullah has played a few matches, and Babar has also not played much first-class or Test cricket,” he said.
“When you play domestic cricket, you learn how to deal with pressure. Then when you come into international cricket, you perform better. Even if you fail, you know how to make a comeback. I believe domestic cricket is the best solution,” Azhar added.
The head coach also stressed the need for Pakistani batters to improve against spin bowling. He said domestic pitches should also support spinners so that batters can learn to play them better.
“Pakistan needs to learn how to bat well against spinners. We also need to prepare spin-friendly pitches in domestic cricket. Players must be mentally strong in international cricket,” he said.
South Africa defeated Pakistan by eight wickets in the Rawalpindi Test to level the series 1-1.