What's new

[VIDEO] Sunil Gavaskar demonstrating how Babar Azam should change his stance

RidiculousMan

RidiculousMan

T20I Debutant
Joined
Aug 6, 2023
Runs
8,088
In a show as guest appearance. Sunil Gavaskar demonstrated how and why Babar Azam should enclose his stance a bit to stand more upright and get more balance and time before playing the ball.

 
RidiculousMan said:
In a show as guest appearance. Sunil Gavaskar demonstrated how and why Babar Azam should enclose his stance a bit to stand more upright and get more balance and time before playing the ball.

Click to expand...
Beautiful, i remember saying something similar a few months ago to @Bewal Express aka babar has a horrible backfoot and sunny perfectly explained why.

And I'm glad sunny explained the head stance position as well. @Rana pointed this out during the video where yousaf and the team were practising hitting sixes before wc 2024.

Rana pointed out how still Yousaf's head was when moving to hit a 6, while Babar's head was tilted and his front foot movement was all over the place.

Even when you watch fakhar and saim bat, their head placement is still and not tilted.

Rizwan's head is also tilted due to his very enclosed stance of him bending his back and shuffling across.
 
If i was Babar Azam, and i came across this, I would immediately call Sunil Gavaskar and request him if he can elaborate further and would have started implementing it immediately in training. If I didn’t have his phone number i would call someone like Wasim bhai who would definitely have his number and ask him for it. Obviously that would mean I would have to listen to some daant from Wasim bhai first lol.

Crux is, when someone like Gavaskar talks about batting technique you leave everything that you’re doing, listen , makes notes and try it out. He maybe old, he maybe making some stupid comments these days due to fatigue but this man’s knowledge of batting is unquestioned. A genuine case can be made that he’s perhaps the greatest test batter since Bradman technically speaking.

Consider yourself lucky he actually bothered to give this advice about you specifically.
 
The way he got out against India is how you expect a number 9 to get out in Test cricket

The guy seems to be an extremely poor reader of the game and bowling strategies. Was he thinking Hardik is going to serve him up another pie to drive through the covers having bowled the worst ball of the match just before it?
 
Rana said:
The way he got out against India is how you expect a number 9 to get out in Test cricket

The guy seems to be an extremely poor reader of the game and bowling strategies. Was he thinking Hardik is going to serve him up another pie to drive through the covers having bowled the worst ball of the match just before it?
Click to expand...
He's not very sharp. We saw that throughout his captaincy stint.
 
An in form Babar Azam will score an ODI hundred in 100 balls at best.

Theek hai. Aur kuch?
 
mominsaigol said:
He's never done that against a full string attack. His Sr is guaranteed to be lower then 100
Click to expand...
Exactly

This is just another player who will not really inflict damage. He’s not a key impact player.

The guys who need sympathy and concern right now are players like Jos Butler or Phil Salt. Their poor form has cost England cricket massively, they make England world champion contenders.

Babar at best is still not making you a world champion contender
 
Jos Butler to Babar in this context:

“Just relax! What’s your problem Babar? It’s not all about you all the time!”
 
Rana said:
Having to give technical tips to a guy who is 30 years old and not 13

Move on guys, this player isn’t going to get better. This is who Babar Azam is. Take him or leave him at face value.
Click to expand...

2014 India in England. Kohli had a similar issue. Gavaskar pointed it out on tv commentary. Made some suggestions.

Ravi Shastri implemented it as he became the Indian coach after few weeks.

Kohli went to score 4 100s in Australia that year.

It's all about the mindset, whether you want to learn or not.
 
cricketjoshila said:
2014 India in England. Kohli had a similar issue. Gavaskar pointed it out on tv commentary. Made some suggestions.

Ravi Shastri implemented it as he became the Indian coach after few weeks.

Kohli went to score 4 100s in Australia that year.

It's all about the mindset, whether you want to learn or not.
Click to expand...
Think of Kohli’s thought process and IQ and then compare it to Babar’s

Baaqi aap sab siyane ho
 
Rana said:
Think of Kohli’s thought process and IQ and then compare it to Babar’s

Baaqi aap sab siyane ho
Click to expand...

How many times we have seen videos of Indian bowlers talking to Wasim Waqar Saqlain? A very many number of times.

Why can't a Pakistani approach Sunny Gavaskar? Gavaskar is widely known as one of the greatest batter and known for his technique.

Puchne mein, sikhne mein taqleef kya hai?
 
cricketjoshila said:
How many times we have seen videos of Indian bowlers talking to Wasim Waqar Saqlain? A very many number of times.

Why can't a Pakistani approach Sunny Gavaskar? Gavaskar is widely known as one of the greatest batter and known for his technique.

Puchne mein, sikhne mein taqleef kya hai?
Click to expand...
They probably do ask for advice in a casual, friendly manner but don’t intend to actually act upon it professionally.

Babar is well known to disregard professional advice from coaches that he has to work under. Forget implementing the advice of some legend or great batter that is given to them in a casual setting.
 
Rana said:
They probably do ask for advice in a casual, friendly manner but don’t intend to actually act upon it professionally.

Babar is well known to disregard professional advice from coaches that he has to work under. Forget implementing the advice of some legend or great batter that is given to them in a casual setting.
Click to expand...

That's a disappointing attitude.

IDK who his cricketing hero is, but he should talk to him atleast.
 
mominsaigol said:
Beautiful, i remember saying something similar a few months ago to @Bewal Express aka babar has a horrible .....
Click to expand...


Not really. If I was Waz I would ask Gavaskar how did Babar survive for nearly 10 years in Intl cricket with th technique?


The point is no batsman changes his technique to get out of form lol.

Bigger point: Waz and Shaz are Gavaskar's media buddies. So ji huzuri is ...
 
Rana said:
The way he got out against India is how you expect a number 9 to get out in Test cricket

The guy seems to be an extremely poor reader of the game and bowling strategies. Was he thinking Hardik is going to serve him up another pie to drive through the covers having bowled the worst ball of the match just before it?
Click to expand...
Rohit also got out stupidly, just like Babar. Shaheen bowled three Yorkers in a row, and everyone knew that he was attacking the stumps, yet Rohit allowed him to hit the stumps.
 
uppercut said:
Not really. If I was Waz I would ask Gavaskar how did Babar survive for nearly 10 years in Intl cricket with th technique?


The point is no batsman changes his technique to get out of form lol.

Bigger point: Waz and Shaz are Gavaskar's media buddies. So ji huzuri is ...
Click to expand...
You can survive in cricket with crappy techniques lol, you juat can't become an ATG and will remain in mediocrity forever.

Babar is bad in test cricket because it's the one format where rubbish techniques get exposed. In odi cricket and t20 cricket however you can get away with it, even be a great in some cases. Just not an atg lol.
 
uppercut said:
So you are saying it took nearly 10 years for opposition teams to figure out that Bobby had technical issues? 🤣
Click to expand...
They had figured it out since his debut. Babar exploiting Wi, and c string attacks and only managing one good innings in odi in his entire career × one good t20 knock against India means nothing.

Ahmed shehzad has some excellent odi knocks as well but that don't mean he's a good player

having techincal issues doesn't mean you're a tail ender. You can get away with techincal flaws in odi and t2o and still be a good player to a certain extent, just not an ATG.

In tests however you can't under any circumstances.
 
cricketjoshila said:
2014 India in England. Kohli had a similar issue. Gavaskar pointed it out on tv commentary. Made some suggestions.

Ravi Shastri implemented it as he became the Indian coach after few weeks.

Kohli went to score 4 100s in Australia that year.

It's all about the mindset, whether you want to learn or not.
Click to expand...
Sure, Gavaskar had talked on air. But Kohli's fix after the 2014 disaster tour of England happened mostly when he returned to India and requested Sachin to work with him in the nets.

But at the end of the day, I think it's really up to the player to have the ability and willingness to adapt.
 
pillionrider said:
Sure, Gavaskar had talked on air. But Kohli's fix after the 2014 disaster tour of England happened mostly when he returned to India and requested Sachin to work with him in the nets.

But at the end of the day, I think it's really up to the player to have the ability and willingness to adapt.
Click to expand...

AFAIK it was Shastri who conveyed the msg to him. And After Shastri became the team manager he made sure Kohli implemented it.
 
RyanRyan10 said:
Achha Ji...Definitely
Click to expand...

O bhai, kisi ki to sunega. Ki onnu sab pata sii.

In 2007, SRT had issues with his technique because he had a tennis elbow injury and he had to made changes.

He went to his heroes, Sunny G and Vengsarkar to develop a new technique.

So why can't Babar go to someone he looks upto?
 
Cover Drive Six said:
Rohit also got out stupidly, just like Babar. Shaheen bowled three Yorkers in a row, and everyone knew that he was attacking the stumps, yet Rohit allowed him to hit the stumps.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure it was part of Shaheen’s plan to spear Rohit with a leg stump yorker. Seemed more like a hopeful ball. The initial plan was to just not get hit for sixes from length or short balls. Hoping against hope bowling. Rohit just kept leaning more and more towards off stump, it was lucky for Shaheen that the ball just came out perfectly for Rohit in the balance he was in.
 
mominsaigol said:
Beautiful, i remember saying something similar a few months ago to @Bewal Express aka babar has a horrible backfoot and sunny perfectly explained why.

And I'm glad sunny explained the head stance position as well. @Rana pointed this out during the video where yousaf and the team were practising hitting sixes before wc 2024.

Rana pointed out how still Yousaf's head was when moving to hit a 6, while Babar's head was tilted and his front foot movement was all over the place.

Even when you watch fakhar and saim bat, their head placement is still and not tilted.

Rizwan's head is also tilted due to his very enclosed stance of him bending his back and shuffling across.
Click to expand...
Babar, Saud and others feet are too far apart. This as Sunny explained leads to a lack of balance. The questionn has to be asked as to why and the answer is our pitches. On slow, low pitches its easy to go forward and not worry about going back. When pushed back, you aren't balanced. To cut a long story short, he is a product of the low pitches and T20 cricket and hasnt adapted. The other thing not mentioned about Babar is that he is overweight, this has also negatively impacted his sharpness.
 
mominsaigol said:
They had figured it out since his debut. Babar exploiting Wi, and c string attacks and only managing one good innings in odi in his entire career × one good t20 knock against India means nothing.

Ahmed shehzad has some excellent odi knocks as well but that don't mean he's a good player

having techincal issues doesn't mean you're a tail ender. You can get away with techincal flaws in odi and t2o and still be a good player to a certain extent, just not an ATG.

In tests however you can't under any circumstances.
Click to expand...


I am not talking about being good/great/atg batsman. I am just saying that Bobby like EVERY Batsman including Kohli,SRT and Sunny himself have struggled to score runs for extended periods despite being widely recognized as having good techniques.

There is no solution to that problem and it affects almost every batsman.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Gavaskar shouldn't waste his time. Babar is just not the player everyone thinks he is. His ceiling on his best day is to score an impactless slow 50. This has happened to many players where they start of their career with a bang but lose form permanently and then get shoved aside. Not every player gets better or recovers after having been found out. It happened to Umar Akmal before and it is now happening with Babar Azam. The selectors need to learn and understand when to move on from a player rather than relying on past laurels.
 
Bewal Express said:
Babar, Saud and others feet are too far apart. This as Sunny explained leads to a lack of balance. The questionn has to be asked as to why and the answer is our pitches. On slow, low pitches its easy to go forward and not worry about going back. When pushed back, you aren't balanced. To cut a long story short, he is a product of the low pitches and T20 cricket and hasnt adapted. The other thing not mentioned about Babar is that he is overweight, this has also negatively impacted his sharpness.
Click to expand...

Or maybe teams have just worked him out and are not bowling to his strengths anymore and Babar just has no answer. To be a great batsman, you must have great game awareness and cricketing iq which babar clearly doesn't have, he is not a good reader or understander of the game. He just goes by his instincts and he cannot reign them in even if they are no longer working for him
 
Savak said:
Or maybe teams have just worked him out and are not bowling to his strengths anymore and Babar just has no answer. To be a great batsman, you must have great game awareness and cricketing iq which babar clearly doesn't have, he is not a good reader or understander of the game. He just goes by his instincts and he cannot reign them in even if they are no longer working for him
Click to expand...
That's going to happen. Bowlers will work you out and you have to work on your game and stay ahead. Babar works hard in the nets (from what I read) but he is like a kid at school that keeps doing last years paper, hoping that it comes up again. Time waits for no one.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
cricketjoshila said:
How many times we have seen videos of Indian bowlers talking to Wasim Waqar Saqlain? A very many number of times.

Why can't a Pakistani approach Sunny Gavaskar? Gavaskar is widely known as one of the greatest batter and known for his technique.

Puchne mein, sikhne mein taqleef kya hai?
Click to expand...

The difference is that Indian players are hungry and they want to aim big, they don't just want to be known or remembered for being good decent players. The cricketing eco system in India demands players to constantly upskill because that is the difference b/w making just $1-2 million in your cricketing career vs $50-75 million in your career overall, sure you will have bad apples like Vinod Kambli, Prithvi Shaw who are very happy, content with making just $1-2 million and to live off it for the rest of their lives but most Indian players aim much higher.

Sadly Pakistani players, vast majority of them are happy making Rs 500,000-Rs 1 million a month and once they have achieved that, that is enough for them, they have reached the top of the pile in Masclow needs of hierarchy and hence why their hunger, drive to improve further diminishes, the PCB also allows the players to play in T-20, T-10 leagues all over the world and cannot afford to keep them exclusive to Pakistan Cricket hence players have numerous earning options as well. Why stress and work hard when you have access to so much easy money.
 
Bewal Express said:
That's going to happen. Bowlers will work you out and you have to work on your game and stay ahead. Babar works hard in the nets( from what I read) but he is like a kid at school that keeps doing last years paper, hoping that it comes up again. Time waits for no one.
Click to expand...

I disagree on the work hard aspect, there is just too much anecdotal evidence from coaches who have worked with him i.e. Herschuelle Gibbs, Adam Hollioake, Wasim Akram, Mohd Yousaf who have complained that he doesn't implement instructions or suggestions and sticks to his comfort zone. The guy has been playing international cricket for 10 years and he cannot play a sweep shot to save his life against spinners.

Look at the physiques of Afghanistani players on average i.e. Gurbaz, Zadran and other Afghanistani players i.e. their shoulders, biceps and tricepts. It is very clear that they have made full use of the IPL and T-20 league exposure that they get and have incorporated the strength, conditioning, training, nutrition habits of the players from the Big 4 but then you see Babar being the same skinny individual that he was when he first started his career and actually having put on a paunch in the last few years. As captain, the team's fitness culture badly deteriorated under his watch. Your attitude towards your diet, fitness tells you everything about your discipline towards your game.
 
Savak said:
I disagree on the work hard aspect, there is just too much anecdotal evidence from coaches who have worked with him i.e. Herschuelle Gibbs, Adam Hollioake, Wasim Akram, Mohd Yousaf who have complained that he doesn't implement instructions or suggestions and sticks to his comfort zone. The guy has been playing international cricket for 10 years and he cannot play a sweep shot to save his life against spinners.

Look at the physiques of Afghanistani players on average i.e. Gurbaz, Zadran and other Afghanistani players i.e. their shoulders, biceps and tricepts. It is very clear that they have made full use of the IPL and T-20 league exposure that they get and have incorporated the strength, conditioning, training, nutrition habits of the players from the Big 4 but then you see Babar being the same skinny individual that he was when he first started his career and actually having put on a paunch in the last few years. As captain, the team's fitness culture badly deteriorated under his watch. Your attitude towards your diet, fitness tells you everything about your discipline towards your game.
Click to expand...
Fair points.
 
Savak said:
The difference is that Indian players are hungry and they want to aim big, they don't just want to be known or remembered for being good decent players. The cricketing eco system in India demands players to constantly upskill because that is the difference b/w making just $1-2 million in your cricketing career vs $50-75 million in your career overall, sure you will have bad apples like Vinod Kambli, Prithvi Shaw who are very happy, content with making just $1-2 million and to live off it for the rest of their lives but most Indian players aim much higher.

Sadly Pakistani players, vast majority of them are happy making Rs 500,000-Rs 1 million a month and once they have achieved that, that is enough for them, they have reached the top of the pile in Masclow needs of hierarchy and hence why their hunger, drive to improve further diminishes, the PCB also allows the players to play in T-20, T-10 leagues all over the world and cannot afford to keep them exclusive to Pakistan Cricket hence players have numerous earning options as well. Why stress and work hard when you have access to so much easy money.
Click to expand...

forget making more money .... just to survive and be relevant in the Indian Cricket system ( at the Ranji or IPL levels) requires insane amount of hardwork.
 
uppercut said:
I am not talking about being good/great/atg batsman. I am just saying that Bobby like EVERY Batsman including Kohli,SRT and Sunny himself have struggled to score runs for extended periods despite being widely recognized as having good techniques.

There is no solution to that problem and it affects almost every batsman.
Click to expand...
The other 3 had goat peaks and were next level, they struggled due to declining reactions.

As for kohli, unlike sunny and srt he isn't the techincal powerhouse. He's horrifically weak on the 3rd offstump line and bang avg against legspin. However in his prime he had quick reactions which is why he could still score runs if such deliveries were bowled to him.

However tests eventually exised this as well but in odi it didn't get exposed for obvious reasons as the 2 new balls aren't as deadly as a single red ball being bowled on pitches that gradually deteriorate.

Babar isnt on their caliber. And never will be. He has many many techincal issues. He can forget about tests altogether. In odi and t20 he can be a good player despite having a crap technique but that depends on mentality and hunger for runs.
 
Sunny G would be better advising Elton chigumbera and other players of Netherlands, Uganda etc. they will keenly listen to him.
Babar will say mere pass data bohot Hai..
 
I enjoyed Gavaskar on the show with Wasim and Waqar. It was nice to hear his old stories.
 
Savak said:
I disagree on the work hard aspect, there is just too much anecdotal evidence from coaches who have worked with him i.e. Herschuelle Gibbs, Adam Hollioake, Wasim Akram, Mohd Yousaf who have complained that he doesn't implement instructions or suggestions and sticks to his comfort zone. The guy has been playing international cricket for 10 years and he cannot play a sweep shot to save his life against spinners.

Look at the physiques of Afghanistani players on average i.e. Gurbaz, Zadran and other Afghanistani players i.e. their shoulders, biceps and tricepts. It is very clear that they have made full use of the IPL and T-20 league exposure that they get and have incorporated the strength, conditioning, training, nutrition habits of the players from the Big 4 but then you see Babar being the same skinny individual that he was when he first started his career and actually having put on a paunch in the last few years. As captain, the team's fitness culture badly deteriorated under his watch. Your attitude towards your diet, fitness tells you everything about your discipline towards your game.
Click to expand...

That's poor attitude then. No one can help someone who doesn't want to learn.
 
This is excellent technical advice from Gavaskar. He's spot on.

And the best part is it's not a major adjustment and can be worked on over the coming months. But it all starts with Babar's mindset and willingness to make changes to his technique.
 
cricketjoshila said:
O bhai, kisi ki to sunega. Ki onnu sab pata sii.

In 2007, SRT had issues with his technique because he had a tennis elbow injury and he had to made changes.

He went to his heroes, Sunny G and Vengsarkar to develop a new technique.

So why can't Babar go to someone he looks upto?
Click to expand...
You’re talking to the guy who rejected Gary Kirsten’s advice by saying I’m no1, I know what I’m doing
 
uppercut said:
Not really. If I was Waz I would ask Gavaskar how did Babar survive for nearly 10 years in Intl cricket with th technique?


The point is no batsman changes his technique to get out of form lol.

Bigger point: Waz and Shaz are Gavaskar's media buddies. So ji huzuri is ...
Click to expand...
Younis khan much late in career was having trouble in England tour. He spoke to Azharuddin I thinj who game some tips. Next innings he scored a double hundred. So it's not too late to make minor changes. He isn't asking him to bat left handed.
 
RidiculousMan said:
In a show as guest appearance. Sunil Gavaskar demonstrated how and why Babar Azam should enclose his stance a bit to stand more upright and get more balance and time before playing the ball.

Click to expand...
This is a good point and takes me back to mid 80s to mid 90s Indian coaching standards which trickled down to under 16 coaching camps. I participated many such camps and was hopeful of making it into karnataka in age groups. In one such training camp, mohindar anarnath came for few hours to give us a working lecture on how to face express bowling and play horizontal shots. What Gavaskar is preaching here is exactly what Amaranth spoke to us and demonstrated. He explained how we should alter our stance based on our own height and the bowlers height. The changes are very subtle and hardly noticeable but gives immense amount of advantage and time for the batsman.

Ability to pick length early and transfers body weight are the two biggest skills a batsman needs to have to succeed in cricket. When we speak about talent that is what we are inherently looking at. Someone like Rohit has it naturally. But a lot of it can be acquired with practice and technical adjustments. This tip by Gavaskar helps in both picking length early as being slightly higher in stance allow you to see the ball better and transfer weight quicker as you are not commited.

If I were Babar I would listen intently. I am also a little bit disappointed that this simple tip is not being provided by Pakistan national coaches. Someone like Yonis Khan should be able to identify and rectify these kind of issues
 
Rana said:
The way he got out against India is how you expect a number 9 to get out in Test cricket

The guy seems to be an extremely poor reader of the game and bowling strategies. Was he thinking Hardik is going to serve him up another pie to drive through the covers having bowled the worst ball of the match just before it?
Click to expand...
That ball could have been a trap to make him to attempt a drive in the next ball. Hardik is a smart cricketer and he has knack of picking wickets.
 
Cover Drive Six said:
Rohit also got out stupidly, just like Babar. Shaheen bowled three Yorkers in a row, and everyone knew that he was attacking the stumps, yet Rohit allowed him to hit the stumps.
Click to expand...
At least Rohit attacks and can score runs at a higher strike rate and gives some impetus to the team. Though generally he doesn't survive for long, he will definitely damage the bowler's confidence by treating him like a 3rd grade spinner. He doesn't dodge like BABAR and he doesn't like to go in to shell. Many times we have seen him throwing his wicket after playing few extremely superb shots. That is his nature and he will not change his style.
 
mon858 said:
Younis khan much late in career was having trouble in England tour. He spoke to Azharuddin I thinj who game some tips. Next innings he scored a double hundred. So it's not too late to make minor changes. He isn't asking him to bat left handed.
Click to expand...

True this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mominsaigol
Should Babar Azam return to his 2016 stance?
Replies
5
Views
874
RizwanT20Champ
R
Major
Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis stay silent as Sunil Gavaskar attacks Pakistan Cricket and takes a jibe against Pakistan
Replies
72
Views
3K
RidiculousMan
RidiculousMan
M
[VIDEO] PakPassion Exclusive Documentary: Babar Azam - A Decade of Promise, Sacrifice and Unfulfilled Dreams
Replies
9
Views
694
RidiculousMan
RidiculousMan
emranabbas
Shadab Khan urges fans not to call Babar Azam 'King' on national TV
Replies
27
Views
2K
RizwanT20Champ
R
Ball Blazer
[EXCLUSIVE] "If Babar Azam & Mohammad Rizwan are willing to change their style of play, they should play T20Is": Imad Wasim
Replies
17
Views
2K
mominsaigol
mominsaigol
Back
Top