"I hope he will regain his form soon" - Australia star looking forward to seeing under-fire Babar Azam amongst runs in Champions Trophy 2025

Stand-in Australian captain Steve Smith has opened up on Babar Azam's struggle for form in recent times. With the former Pakistan captain garnering widespread criticism after the defending champions' crushing loss in the Champions Trophy 2025 opener, Smith hopes to see the star batter back in form.

Babar, viewed as the lynchpin of Pakistan's batting line-up, came under fire for scoring only 64 runs off 90 deliveries during the 60-run defeat to New Zealand in the tournament opener. With the Men in Green chasing 321 for victory, the 30-year-old's lack of intent has been lamented as the most decisive factor in Pakistan's loss.

Speaking ahead of Australia's Champions Trophy game against England, Smith said gaining and losing form is part of the game. As quoted by CricketPakistan.pk, he stated:

"Babar Azam is a very skillful player; his technique is very good. He has not been scoring well for some time, which is part of the game. I hope he will regain his form soon."

Babar, who was dethroned as the No. 1 ranked ODI batter before the Champions Trophy began, hasn't scored a ton in internationals since August 2023.

"You're only playing three round-games" - Steve Smith keen for Australia to not start slowly

While Smith admitted that World Cups give teams time to come back despite early losses, the 35-year-old warned that the Champions Trophy tournament doesn't allow that luxury. The right-hander also backed their fringe players to step up in the absence of the injured ones and said, as quoted by Perth Now:

"We know that sometimes in those big tournaments, in World Cups for instance, it takes us a little while to get into our groove, which we've done in the last few, but we know with Champions Trophy it's a shorter format. You're only playing three round-games, so you have to be switched on from the first one."

"So, our message to the group is, essentially, it's a quarter-final to begin proceedings and, hopefully, that can bring the best out of our players. There's always pressure when you're playing in international events and big tournaments. Look, it's clear we're obviously missing a few of our gun fast bowlers, but we're not worried about that."

Australia have won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006 and 2009.