Robin Uthappa blames Babar Azam's lack of Virat Kohli-like mental resilience for batting slump amid 'abuse and disrespect'

Robin Uthappa blames Babar Azam’s lack of Virat Kohli-like mental resilience for batting slump amid ‘abuse and disrespect’ originally appeared on Cricket News.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Robin Uthappa says online abuse hampers Babar Azam’s mental resilience.
• Babar reclaimed Pakistan’s Test captaincy after Shan Masood’s sacking.
• Babar’s first test comes against West Indies away from home. 

Robin Uthappa points to online hate behind Babar Azam’s struggles

Former India batter Robin Uthappa has weighed in on Babar Azam’s recent struggles, arguing that the Pakistan captain lacks the same mental toughness shown by players like Virat Kohli, largely because of the relentless online criticism and disrespect he faces from former Pakistani cricketers and social media users alike.

Babar has stepped back into the Test captaincy role after the selection committee removed Shan Masood from the position after a dismal run. 

The decision had been building for a while, with Masood’s tenure producing just four wins from sixteen matches. He had originally taken over the captaincy from Babar back in late 2023, but results nosedived soon after, beginning with a 3-0 series defeat to Australia in his very first assignment.

Pakistan also suffered their first-ever home series loss to Bangladesh, going down 2-0, with Masood’s only series win coming against England at home, a 2-1 result. The final straw arrived roughly two months ago when Pakistan suffered a complete 0-2 series defeat away in Bangladesh, a result that cemented their position at the very bottom of the nine-team World Test Championship table.

Pakistan now begin a new chapter under Babar’s leadership, with their opening Test against the West Indies scheduled for July 25, placing him firmly back under the spotlight.

MORE: WI Select XI vs PAK highlights: Babar hits century ahead of PAK Test captaincy return

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Uthappa’s take on what’s really holding Babar back

Speaking ahead of that fixture, Uthappa offered a detailed perspective on what he believes lies at the heart of Babar’s dip in form, suggesting it has less to do with technique and more to do with how he’s handled sustained criticism online.

Uthappa explained that Babar’s usual response to hate has been to try and prove people wrong through performance, rather than tuning out the noise entirely and focusing purely on what works for him individually.

“I think Babar’s situation, I wouldn’t even call it a downfall, as in I’d say his whole situation, is largely impacted by social media hate and social media abuse,” he said.

“I genuinely believe it’s a lot of that. I think a lot of that, and his response to that was ‘I’ll do this, I’ll do this, I’ll do this and show them who I am.’ Like, I don’t think it’s been like ‘Okay, I need to shut this noise out, and I need to focus on what works for me.’ Right? I don’t think he’s done that.”

According to Uthappa, that ability to block out external distractions is exactly what separated legends like Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Inzamam-ul-Haq from the rest. They were players who remained grounded in self-belief regardless of outside commentary about their form or even their physical appearance.

“I think that’s something that Virat’s been able to do, Sachin Tendulkar’s been able to do, Rahul Dravid’s been able to do, a lot of the greats, Inzamam-ul-Haq’s been able to do, he said. “Complain about his weight, like ‘Shut up, man, I’ll figure this out. I know who I am.’ Right? They’ve been able to do that because they’re very clear about who they are and what works for them, right?”

MORE: Babar Azam vows to focus on three key aspects ahead of new journey as PAK captain

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Uthappa went on to describe the scale of criticism Babar faces as coming from multiple directions at once, pointing to backlash from within Pakistan, added scrutiny from Indian fans, and instances of disrespect from fellow cricketers even at global events like the Big Bash League. He argued that this level of sustained hostility would inevitably affect anyone’s mindset, shaping how a player reacts not just to failure but to success as well.

“The Pakistanis are going after him, the Indians are doubling down on him, right? And then the whole world’s like bringing him down. Then the abuse, like, then the disrespect that happens from cricketers at an event like the BBL, right?” Uthappa said. 

“So from everywhere, he feels completely isolated and targeted, and so he doesn’t know, like, think about it. Like if you’re going to go through that like abuse of that and disrespect and abuse of that level, of that magnitude, it’s going to have an impact on who you are as a as an individual, as a human being itself.

“And that’s going to alter the way you respond to situations, the way you respond to success, the way you respond to failure. It’s going to have a huge impact on you. I don’t think he’s built the mental wherewithal to deal with the noise, the outside noise, to just shut all of that out.”

MORE: PAK squad announced for WI and ENG Test series: Babar Azam returns as captain

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Does mental resilience really explain Babar’s slump?

Uthappa isn’t wrong about how damaging constant online abuse can be, but pinning an entire batting slump on mental toughness alone leaves out a lot of the picture.

At the end of the day, batting comes down to technique and reading the situation in front of you, and Babar’s rough patch has run parallel to a lot of chaos swirling around him, patchy team performances, a captaincy that’s changed hands more than once, and a Pakistan side that simply hasn’t fired collectively for a while now.

Maybe the bigger question isn’t social media hate at all, but the weight of leading a team stuck at the bottom of the table, match after match.

Still, Uthappa isn’t pulling his comparison out of thin air. Kohli and Tendulkar really did earn reputations for shutting out the noise and staying locked in during their own tough stretches, so there’s some substance to that part of his argument, even if it doesn’t tell the whole story.

But every player’s relationship with public criticism differs, and reducing Babar’s challenges to a single psychological gap risks ignoring the genuine cricketing pressures he’s navigating as captain of a team fighting to escape the bottom of the WTC table.

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