DUBAI: A serious cause why Pakistan are floundering within the ICC tournaments lately and are being crushed by arch-rivals India constantly is the regular decline of Babar Azam as soon as their premier batter.
Having made his debut in opposition to Zimbabwe in Lahore in Might 2015, Babar, then simply 22, introduced his nice expertise to the world when he cracked three consecutive centuries in opposition to the West Indies in the UAE in Sept-Oct 2016. Carrying on that preliminary promise, Babar scored 100 in opposition to Australia at Adelaide after which a couple of extras in opposition to the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Within the 2019 World Cup, whereas Pakistan crashed out within the league stage, Babar’s performance of 474 runs in eight matches at 67.71, with three fifties and 100, stood out.
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Contemplating the starvation for runs and the eagerness for the sport that he displayed, there have been a couple of comparisons with India’s legend-in-making Virat Kohli, who was by the way Babar’s hero. Many even felt he would go on to change into Pakistan’s greatest-ever batsman.
His excessive level got here in opposition to India in a bunch match of the 2021 T20 World Cup in October, when captaining the facet, Babar, whereas sharing a 152-run unbeaten stand with fellow opener Mohammed Rizwan, scored a chic 68 not out off 52 balls to form Pakistan’s crushing 10-wicket win on the Dubai Worldwide Stadium right here.
From then on, although it has been a narrative of diminishing returns for the previous Pakistan captain—hailed as soon as because the ‘King’, Babar’s returns have been that of a pauper of late.
Though he nonetheless possesses a wonderful record of 6106 runs at common of 55.50 in 128 ODIs, with 19 centuries and 35 fifties, the 30-year-old has not shipped lately, particularly in main tournaments. The off-colour batter’s final ODI century got here way back to Aug 30, 2023, within the Asia Cup—a 151 in opposition to Nepal at Multan—23 innings have passed since then.
In his 26 Take a look at innings, Babar has scored solely two half-centuries, whereas within the T20Is, his final half-century (75) got here 11 matches in the past in opposition to Eire in Might 2024. Towards massive rivals India, all Babar has managed to attain is 241 runs in 9 matches at 30.12, with a high rating of fifty.
In Pakistan, the criticism from the previous gamers in opposition to him has been scathing, and at instances, crass-on a TV present published his newest failure—a 26-ball 23 in opposition to India within the 2025 Champions Trophy—approaching the again of a laboured 90-ball 64, whereas chasing 321 in opposition to New Zealand at Karachi-Pakistan tempo bowling nice Shoaib Akhtar went to the extent of calling him a “fraud.”
“We regularly hear comparisons between Babar Azam and Virat Kohli. However, let me ask you, who’s Virat Kohli’s hero? It is Sachin Tendulkar, who has scored an exceptional 100 centuries, and Virat is now aiming to follow in his footsteps. So, who’s Babar Azam’s hero? Let’s not title any cricketer,” he remarked through the TV present.
Maybe the under-fire batter may do with a useful piece of recommendation provided by India’s cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar.
Whereas speaking in a video on Basit Ali’s YouTube channel, Gavaskar mentioned, “In case you ask me, I’ll inform Babar of only one factor. Proper now, his stance is kind of unfolding out. If he can cut back the width between his feet, then two issues will occur: one, when your feet are unfolded out, then you definitely face issues happening in the backfoot and frontfoot; however, when you’re extra balanced (with feet much less broad), then you definitely additionally acquire a little bit of peak when you are a bit down with feet unfolded out. So, you’ll be able to decide the bounce and motion of the ball a bit higher when you’re extra upright. And a gap batsman wants that peak.”
“If he tries to do that, then I imagine that the run-making means he used to have will return, and the entire world will take pleasure in that, not simply the Pakistanis…the entire world desires to see him play photographs just like the flick by means of the mid-wicket he produced (within the match in opposition to India).”
Slamming Pakistani followers for criticising Babar for his poor kind, former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu, whereas defending Babar, demanded respect for the participant Babar Azam, drawing comparisons to a younger Kohli’s struggles early in his profession.
Sidhu mentioned, “He has made runs for you and can play for you for a very long time. Study to respect him. Do not simply stand afar and throw stones at him.”
Whereas stalwarts from India have been kinder on Babar, one of the few voices in Pakistan who’re softer on the struggling batter and keen to assist him is that of “Somebody has to speak to Babar. It is unhappy the good expertise like Babar is getting wasted,” mentioned Pakistan’s legendary batter Mohammed Yousuf.
Stating a technical flaw in his batting in opposition to the spinners, which the batter is discovering it arduous to resolve, Yousuf mentioned on a TV present lately, “Babar’s method has an issue: Javed Miandad and Zaheer Abbas used to play sweep photographs in opposition to the spinners. They even went down the wicket to hit them for fours and sixes. Babar cannot play the sweep and reverse sweep photographs. He isn’t capable of going down the observer in opposition to the spinner and is getting caught. His leg goes throughout.”
