His form in the World Cup is being discussed and criticized. Many are talking about dropping him to number three from the opening. The topic also came up at Hayden’s press conference on Tuesday. The former Australian batsman then returned to the 2007 World Cup.

He said, “Babar and Rizwan are the right number one combination. If you look at the 2007 World Cup, Australia was unbeaten in the World Cup, but Gilchrist’s time was not going well. If you remember the final against Sri Lanka, he scored an incredible century and proved his mettle. He once again let the world know that he is one of the best batsmen in this edition.”

Australia won all 11 matches starting from the group stage and became the champion. Gilchrist had two fifties in the first 10 matches. In the last match of the Super Eight and in the semi-final, he was dismissed for 1 run. Hayden was seen working closely with Babar in the nets ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final against New Zealand in Sydney. The former Australian opener feels that Babar’s return to form is only a matter of time.

“We know everyone has ups and downs in their careers”, Hayden said. There is no doubt that Babar is having a bad time. But this is what will make him an even bigger player.

He also said, “No one can always score a century or a fifty or a 140 strike rate. There are moments when everything goes quiet. As for the weather, it is often very calm before a storm. So keep an eye out, I think I am going to see something special from Babar.”