Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan has backed ace batter and former captain Babar Azam to break the rut in form in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. Babar has been struggling for form since the last one and a half years and was dismissed cheaply in the currently ongoing tri-series as well.

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"Babar has scored so many runs for Pakistan that we expect him to score a hundred in each game," Rizwan said as quoted by cricket news website ESPNCricinfo. "If we don't judge him by those extreme expectations, you'll find he's still chipping in and contributing valuably for us.

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"As a captain, I expect a lot more of him too because of all he has done in the past. There is obviously an additional pressure because of it and I'm sure he feels that too. But if you look at his innings in South Africa, [he is still scoring runs]. It's not as if he has clear technical deficiencies, but he is still being tested. I am confident he'll come out of it," Rizwan added.

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Babar's worrying form 

Former Pakistan skipper Babar has been in a fix ever since the 2023 Asia Cup. He has scored 901 runs in 24 innings of 25 matches at an average of 42.90. He has managed eight fifties and a hundred - his average in that period, however, dropped to 38 against a career average of 56 if the innings of 151 against Nepal is taken out of account.

In the two matches played in the ongoing tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand, Babar managed 23 and 10 runs, respectively as an opener - causing more headache for Pakistan.

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The batter did score two fifties on the tour of South Africa in December 2024 and Pakistan hope that he'll get back to form in the upcoming tournament in time as they look to defend their title.