In this exclusive interview, Mudassar Nazar, the former Pakistan all-rounder and head coach, shares his expert analysis on the challenges facing modern-day batsmen. The veteran of 76 Test matches reflects on the technical flaws in Babar Azam's game, the lack of patience in contemporary cricket, the PCB's struggle to sustain its academy system, the undue pressure from media and former players — and much more.
By Saj Sadiq (November 28, 2025)
Key revelations include:
Babar Azam's technical flaw: "His bat is coming from third or fourth slip" - Says that This faulty path creates a gap between the bat and pad, leading him to miss straight balls and get cleaned up, especially by spin bowlers.
On modern batsmen: "These boys don't have patience. In fact, the spectators and coaches don't have patience." - He recounts an anecdote with Majid Khan, who, when asked about feeling pressure, responded, "Do you think it gets easier?" Nazar concludes that players must learn to cope with pressure, as "you don't have room to stay there" if you can't.
PCB Academy struggles: "Every time I left Pakistan... they would close the academy" - He was running 16 academies across all regions of Pakistan, starting with five in 2006. However, every time he left Pakistan, the academies would be closed and funding would stop.
Regional Equality: He strongly argues that establishing academies is a duty, not just a feasibility, stating that players in Sukkur or Quetta have as much right to development as those in Lahore or Karachi
Handling pressure: "It gets worse. There was more pressure because of expectancy" - He specifically mentions that current players struggle with pressure partly because former players who have jobs with media houses are "just waiting to bounce you" and are ready to "bash you". He notes this same pressure is applied to administrators like himself, despite his hard work at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
On political messages: "Absolute nonsense. It's just political mileage" -Finally, he addresses the persistent problem of captaincy power struggles in Pakistan cricket. He blames the cricket board for "succumbing to pressure" and allowing players to manipulate the system.
The first-class fix: "If Don Bradman did that, who are we?" - Nazar finds it "quite disturbing" that Babar is still not playing first-class cricket to correct these technical faults, referencing how players like Don Bradman continued to play shield matches despite international success.
Watch full interview with Saj here:
