Babar Azam: The fading king of Pakistan cricket | Cricket Information

DUBAI: A significant motive why Pakistan are floundering within the ICC tournaments lately, and are being overwhelmed 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 Could 2015, Babar, then simply 22, introduced his high-quality expertise to the world when he cracked three consecutive centuries in opposition to West Indies in UAE in Sept-Oct 2016. Carrying on that preliminary promise, Babar scored 100 in opposition to Australia at Adelaide after which a couple of extra in opposition to West Indies and Sri Lanka. Within the 2019 World Cup, whereas Pakistan crashed out within the league stage, Babar’s performance-474 runs in eight matches@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 turn out to be Pakistan’s greatest-ever batsman.
His excessive level got here in opposition to India in a gaggle 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-6106 runs at common of 55.50 in 128 ODIs, with 19 centuries and 35 fifties, the 30-year-old has didn’t ship 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 handed 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 Could 2024. Towards massive rivals India, all Babar has managed to attain is 241 runs in 9 matches@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 occasions, crass-on a TV present put up 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 frequently 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 a exceptional 100 centuries, and Virat is now aiming to observe in his footsteps. So, who’s Babar Azam’s hero? Let’s not identify any cricketer,” he remarked in the course of the TV present.
Maybe, the under-fire batter may do with a beneficial piece of recommendation provided by India’s cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar.
Whereas speaking in a video on Basit Ali’s YouTube channel, Gavaskar stated, “For those who ask me, I’ll inform Babar only one factor. Proper now, his stance is kind of unfold out. If he can cut back the width between his ft, then two issues will occur: one, when your ft are unfold out, you then face problem happening the backfoot and frontfoot, however if you end up extra balanced (with ft much less vast), you then additionally achieve a little bit of top, when you are a bit down with ft unfold out. So, you’ll be able to choose the bounce and motion of the ball a bit higher if you end up extra upright. And a gap batsman wants that top.”
“If he tries to do that, then I imagine that the run-making capacity he used to have will return, and the entire world will get pleasure from that, not simply the Pakistanis…the entire world desires to see him play photographs just like the flick by way 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 stated, “He has made runs for you and can play for you for a very long time. Be taught to respect him. Do not simply stand afar and throw stones at him.”
Whereas stalwarts from India have been kinder on Babar, one of many few voices in Pakistan who’re softer on the struggling batter, and prepared to assist him is that of “Somebody has to speak to Babar. It is unhappy the good expertise like Babar is getting wasted,” stated Pakistan’s legendary batter Mohammed Yousuf.
Mentioning a technical flaw in his batting in opposition to the spinners, which the batter is discovering it exhausting to resolve, Yousuf stated 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 in a position to go down the monitor in opposition to the spinner and is getting caught. His leg goes throughout.”