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Are Babar Azam's good days in Test cricket about to come?

NauV said:
Been following your comments on Babar Azam for a long time . . and mostly agreed on him not being an "impact player" . . lack of "match changing abilities" . . "timid outlook" etc. etc. .

However, in the last 12 to 18 months, I have begun to notice a change in how he is batting and how he is carrying himself on the field . . Almost feels as though he is starting to develop an aura about him . . I won't talk much about his innings today as it was in an inconsequential setting against a mediocre attack (though his innings was disdainful compared to Abid and Azhar almost like he was having an evening net) . .

However, the way he played in SA (though he didn't go on to score big but you can also potentially put that down to what was happening on the other end) and Aus . . looks like a player who is authoritative and in command when he goes out to bat against 2 top attacks in their backyards . . something seems to have changed! His runs are coming at a fair clip and don't look timid . . Long may it continue . .

Hoping this "Pakistani anomaly" continues to put his head down, work hard and "express" himself on the field more and more with time!
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Probably he is reading PP and trying to prove his critics wrong :)
 
Why not? If he can negotiate the Starcs and Steyns of the world, he should be comfortable against inferior bowlers. Things looking bright for him.
 
Fahdi said:
The NZ series will be make or break for Babar.

Hopefully Babar makes it count. He has the makings of a 47+ averaging Test batsman maybe even a 50 averaging batsman. His poor showing so far has been due to a mental block mostly and he has had bad luck whenever he looked like overcoming that block. Got his hand fractured when he looked set for a hundred in England, got run out against Ireland and when he was finally 1 run away from his 100 he got stuck for a bit and got a good ball
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I called it early but it seems that Babar may go beyond my expectations.
 
Another year with these performances and you could him as a third to the Fab 2.
 
[MENTION=141847]NauV[/MENTION]

Babar has definitely become more authoritative in the last 12 months. He has been given more responsibility and he has thrived as the star batsman. That is why I feel it is time to make him the Test and ODI captain as well. It will eventually happen and I don’t see the purpose of delaying the inevitable.

Azhar is a dead duck. He is on his last legs as a batsman and is a terrible leader. Not only is he Misbah’s puppet, he is also a dreadful captain in his own right.

Regarding Babar in ODIs vs Babar in Tests is concerned, I feel that Babar does not have the extra gear that the likes of Kohli and Rohit have. Those two can flick a switch at any time and score a 100 in 50 balls at any point in their innings, and this is what makes them so dangerous. They are super consistent but they are also capable of batting extremely aggressively.

Babar at the moment doesn’t have that quality. That is why he hasn’t made any impact when it comes to chasing massive totals. A target of 250-270 is within his range but I want to see him develop to a level where he can take Pakistan home when chasing 320+.

However, he is a run machine and that is why I believe that Test cricket will be his best format in the long run. He also bats at an extremely healthy strike rate for Test cricket. I am glad that he has cemented the #4 position because this is where your best batsman should bat in this format.

#4 is relatively the easiest position to bat in Test cricket. More often than not, you won’t face the new ball and will be settled at the crease at the time of the second new ball. That is why you want your best batsman to bat in this position because it will allow him to maximize his output.
 
Mamoon said:
[MENTION=141847]NauV[/MENTION]

Babar has definitely become more authoritative in the last 12 months. He has been given more responsibility and he has thrived as the star batsman. That is why I feel it is time to make him the Test and ODI captain as well. It will eventually happen and I don’t see the purpose of delaying the inevitable.

Azhar is a dead duck. He is on his last legs as a batsman and is a terrible leader. Not only is he Misbah’s puppet, he is also a dreadful captain in his own right.

Regarding Babar in ODIs vs Babar in Tests is concerned, I feel that Babar does not have the extra gear that the likes of Kohli and Rohit have. Those two can flick a switch at any time and score a 100 in 50 balls at any point in their innings, and this is what makes them so dangerous. They are super consistent but they are also capable of batting extremely aggressively.

Babar at the moment doesn’t have that quality. That is why he hasn’t made any impact when it comes to chasing massive totals. A target of 250-270 is within his range but I want to see him develop to a level where he can take Pakistan home when chasing 320+.

However, he is a run machine and that is why I believe that Test cricket will be his best format in the long run. He also bats at an extremely healthy strike rate for Test cricket. I am glad that he has cemented the #4 position because this is where your best batsman should bat in this format.

#4 is relatively the easiest position to bat in Test cricket. More often than not, you won’t face the new ball and will be settled at the crease at the time of the second new ball. That is why you want your best batsman to bat in this position because it will allow him to maximize his output.
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Tbf to Babar, if we had any half decent players at the other end, he could score 120 at a run a ball in ODI cricket and the others could take the team home when chasing 320. Unfortunately, it all falls on him.

In regards number 4 at test cricket, unfortunately, got Babar again he’ll be facing the new ball more frequently then most number 4’s in the world.
 
Babar is 25 YO and he is hitting his peak now. How he does in next 7 years will determine his legacy.

He shows flash of brilliance every now and then, he need to get more consistent and start scoring big hundreds in Test. To be the best, a batsman should be really good in test, then in ODI and last in T20, but Babar is other way around.

He won’t be considered great unless he scores some grinding 100’s consistently in Test match.
 
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The guy has scored 2 hundreds and a 90 and a 60 in his last 6 innings. And people are ready to pan him.
That was a great delivery. Move on
 
They're already here. He is playing wonderfully, I can see his rise for the next 5-6 years. Truly world-class batsman.
 
Has a great future ahead of him. Just need to improve his temperament and concentration levels in test to make big scores in Tests which I am sure he will. Want him to show that hunger for runs.
 
Want him score hundreds for fun in tests. And those big daddy hundreds .. may be 2021 could be the year for him
 
I expect a 200 from Babar in NZ.. Nothing less. Needs to make for that rather.impactless England tour.
 
I just hope that his batting is not affected by captaincy. Even if he scores 2 hundreds each series, it'd be great.
 
zain7077 said:
we play like 5 tests the whole year. Babar has been playing since 2016 and has played 29 tests. Ridiculous.
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I hope the new chairman Barclay could help fix the calendar, which is a major issue that needs Wasim to address , fight and get enough tests for Pakistan per year. I hope he is aware and working on it.
 
Rana said:
You expect? When did any high quality batsman walk to 200 in New Zealand in recent history?
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Root did make a double recently though on a flat deck. So babar can as well. If he maintains focus after breaks in play. Too many times i have seen him estabilish himself and then get out after a break. Against anderson this year and also during bangladesh test when he was on 140.
 
Babar is going to be a top class player. Pakistan fans have no patience. They think if a player flops in 1 game or series they are rubbish LOL.
 
MHN1293 said:
Root did make a double recently though on a flat deck. So babar can as well. If he maintains focus after breaks in play. Too many times i have seen him estabilish himself and then get out after a break. Against anderson this year and also during bangladesh test when he was on 140.
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They will serve us 2 green Mambas my friend. Both Test matches will not last longer than 3/4 days.

I’m expecting two clinical performances by the Kiwis at home, with maybe a few decent sessions by the Pakistanis.

Personally I recon Fawad or Rizwan (5&6) are more likely to score decent runs whilst transitioning from the semi old ball into the new ball.
 
Rana said:
They will serve us 2 green Mambas my friend. Both Test matches will not last longer than 3/4 days.

I’m expecting two clinical performances by the Kiwis at home, with maybe a few decent sessions by the Pakistanis.

Personally I recon Fawad or Rizwan (5&6) are more likely to score decent runs whilst transitioning from the semi old ball into the new ball.
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Doesnt swing and seem suit pakistan more or does a flat track suit pakistan more in trying to win the game
 
shamaan said:
Doesnt swing and seem suit pakistan more or does a flat track suit pakistan more in trying to win the game
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Yeah, we have not been bowling well for quite some time. Waqar Younis has been pathetic to say the least.

But the discussion is more about Babar Azam scoring big runs. It’s a huge ask IMO.
 
People are setting themselves up for disappointment here. Our recent track record in NZW suggests that if Babar can get a century and a couple of 40+ scores then it would be a big win. Babar doesn't bat in a strong batting lineup. By the time he reaches his half-century, half the side is already back in the hut. It's not really possible for Babar to score double centuries against this attack with this kind of a batting lineup. However, if he does make a daddy hundred somehow, we will at least win one match in NZW, which tbh is highly unlikely.
 
sharmaji said:
I just hope that his batting is not affected by captaincy. Even if he scores 2 hundreds each series, it'd be great.
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2 hundreds each series? we play mostly 2 tests test series. Asking a lot from him.

If we play 6 7 tests each year , best we can hope is 3 centuries per year.
 
Rana said:
Yeah, we have not been bowling well for quite some time. Waqar Younis has been pathetic to say the least.

But the discussion is more about Babar Azam scoring big runs. It’s a huge ask IMO.
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Even if he scores runs I dont think they can win a test it has to be a join performance from all Bateman
 
Has a lot of potential, will be a great captain for Pakistan if he can score runs and make better decisions as well.

I have noticed this as well, it might be because he's young, but he has too much faith in the bowlers in terms of appeals. Yes, sometimes the bowlers were right, but there were a few reviews in that Zimbabwe series that were questionable. As a captain, you not only need to manage the reviews, but you need to make sure that your bowlers are sure of what they are saying. This is a type of training PCB needs to do, so that decisions can be made accurately.
 
I think this tour of New Zealand will be his toughest test so far.

I think he'll be ok in the T20Is, but the Test series could be a rough ride on a personal level and as skipper.
 
Saj said:
I think this tour of New Zealand will be his toughest test so far.

I think he'll be ok in the T20Is, but the Test series could be a rough ride on a personal level and as skipper.
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Definitely will be a tough series but at the same time an opportunity to give a big boost to his leadership status at such an early stage if Pakistan is even able to draw the test series by winning a test match against this NZ side. Also considering how Pakistan cricket team has struggled in SENA in the last decade, I think there isnt much to loose and quite a lot to gain.
 
Saj said:
I think this tour of New Zealand will be his toughest test so far.

I think he'll be ok in the T20Is, but the Test series could be a rough ride on a personal level and as skipper.
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Saj if you can please get in contact with Wasim Khan regarding number of tests per series for Pakistan. Way too few
 
zain7077 said:
Saj if you can please get in contact with Wasim Khan regarding number of tests per series for Pakistan. Way too few
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It’s crazy how few we play. Either more tests per tour are needed, or more tours per year.
 
Stole the words out of my mouth. I have been saying for years that Pakistan needs to play more Tests per year, a minimum of 10 Tests, although 12 would be even better.
 
In a series of 4 matches or more, my bad. I should have mentioned that.

JibranAnsari said:
2 hundreds each series? we play mostly 2 tests test series. Asking a lot from him.

If we play 6 7 tests each year , best we can hope is 3 centuries per year.
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Pakistan wont be playing 4 test series in the near future the best we can hope for is 3 tests series
 
We need 12 tests a year. Minimum. Just change all our 2 test series to 3 and it should work out.
 
MHN1293 said:
Because thats where pakistan are decently competitive. When was the last time pakistan actually threatened to beat austrailia, south africa or mewzealand.
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New Zealand doesn't play a 4 test series against any team. Australia only plays 4 or more test series at home against India and England. Pakistan last won a test series in NZ in 2011. Haven't won one in Aus or SA though.
 
MHN1293 said:
Because thats where pakistan are decently competitive. When was the last time pakistan actually threatened to beat austrailia, south africa or mewzealand.
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We’re dominating/competitive in home Tests, surely we have more say about those? Upgrade 2 match series to 3 matches and 3 to 4.
 
Babar needs to up that high score. 143 is very poor all things considered.

There needs to be a daddy double century coming his way soon.
 
Think his dismissal today was a tame one - maybe took it too easy?
 
Captain catastrophic fails again... he needs to be relieved of his duties. Not good enough at test level or 20/20... decent odi player though...
 
His good days are already here.

He was averaging 35 three years back and now he is averaging low 40s which is his ceiling at this point.

He lacks the temperament and the technique against spin bowling to be a 50+ averaging Test batsman and get those big hundreds & double-hundreds.

If Pakistan starts producing turning tracks in home Tests, he will be averaging in the high 30s.

A very good player but far from being the world’s greatest batsman and is nowhere close to the Fab Four. He gets overhyped because everyone around him is so mediocre and he stands out among them.

You will find players of his caliber in every nook & corner of India.
 
Mamoon said:
His good days are already here.

He was averaging 35 three years back and now he is averaging low 40s which is his ceiling at this point.

He lacks the temperament and the technique against spin bowling to be a 50+ averaging Test batsman and get those big hundreds & double-hundreds.

If Pakistan starts producing turning tracks in home Tests, he will be averaging in the high 30s.

A very good player but far from being the world’s greatest batsman and is nowhere close to the Fab Four. He gets overhyped because everyone around him is so mediocre and he stands out among them.

You will find players of his caliber in every nook & corner of India.
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Can the sensible Indian fans verify the final sentence?

@sensible_Indian_fan @bhag_viru_Bhag [MENTION=2099]Cricket[/MENTION]enthusiast [MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION]
 
The Fab Four were all far more accomplished and prolific Test batsmen at 26.

Babar has never averaged close to 50 in Test cricket and has 1 only Test hundred outside Asia.

Moreover, he is delivering golden ducks against Zimbabwe and was getting LBW to Maharaj’s arm balls on placid wickets.

He has a long, long way to go before he can be compared to the best in the world.

He is lucky we don’t play India - Ashwin and Jadeja would run circles around him on Indian pitches.
 
MenInG said:
Think his dismissal today was a tame one - maybe took it too easy?
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He needs to adapt to the requirements of test cricket and quickly This is as a result of playing so many t20s and odis

There was no need for such a short off the first ball of your innings Not in test cricket
 
Mamoon said:
The Fab Four were all far more accomplished and prolific Test batsmen at 26.

Babar has never averaged close to 50 in Test cricket and has 1 only Test hundred outside Asia.

Moreover, he is delivering golden ducks against Zimbabwe and was getting LBW to Maharaj’s arm balls on placid wickets.

He has a long, long way to go before he can be compared to the best in the world.

He is lucky we don’t play India - Ashwin and Jadeja would run circles around him on Indian pitches.
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At best i think he will avg 45 in tests... hes soft and doesnt have the mentality to be the best of the best. Dudes posing as a weight lifter on twitter.. but you can clearly see he has zero ounce of muscle of his frame... idc about that stuff, but as an professional athlete he should have top fitness.. more muscle = more power/strength. More explosive movements etc..

He doesnt have an athletes fitness, seems content at the level hes at. By now we shouldve seen a drastic change in his personality, because you feel he would get more confident, but hes still meek.

He has the money to hire an english teacher and learn, that shows growth and iq and the hunger to better oneself...

But he hasnt done that either... so i dont seem him getting to the top tier.

He doesnt have the hunger to be the best version of himself, especially with all the tools infront of him. Its not about the lack of skills or talent, its about hunger...

Team says he doesnt eat after a bad innings.. that just shows his child like mentality. Not everyone can be like Kohli, MJ or Kobe. Their mentality is a world apart compared to everyone else.
 
He's been frustrating in test cricket especially in last one year.

First had an average England tour where he failed to capitalise in the crucial moments. Missed New Zealand tour due to injury and failed miserably against South Africa (except one innings). Today he had an opportunity to score big but he played a dumb shot, not sure if he would get the a chance to bat in the second innings.

Someone needs to tell him that legacies are defined by your test performance, nobody will remember these useless t20s innings.

His serious issues are

Lack of concentration when he's new to the crease or just before and after the break i.e he often loses his wicket early next morning or during last few overs of the day.

His serious weakness against spin bowling especially against left arm spinners in Asian conditions i.e. he was a bunny of Maharaj in the last series, couldn't play an ageing Herath and in fact he was lucky against Bangladesh left arm spinner (forgot his name) that his catch was dropped early on, before he scored a century.

Another problem is, most of our sports journalists are clueless as I have never seen anyone asking these questions from him.
 
I know Smith was No-1 at 26, Root was No-1 at 26, Kohli was No-1 at 27 and Kane was No-1at 30.
 
MenInG said:
Think his dismissal today was a tame one - maybe took it too easy?
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He certainly hasnt cracked test cricket as of yet. His approach ,temprament, patience needs improvement. He's not willing to dig in and play a proper test innings
 
Sir-fraz said:
At best i think he will avg 45 in tests... hes soft and doesnt have the mentality to be the best of the best. Dudes posing as a weight lifter on twitter.. but you can clearly see he has zero ounce of muscle of his frame... idc about that stuff, but as an professional athlete he should have top fitness.. more muscle = more power/strength. More explosive movements etc..

He doesnt have an athletes fitness, seems content at the level hes at. By now we shouldve seen a drastic change in his personality, because you feel he would get more confident, but hes still meek.

He has the money to hire an english teacher and learn, that shows growth and iq and the hunger to better oneself...

But he hasnt done that either... so i dont seem him getting to the top tier.

He doesnt have the hunger to be the best version of himself, especially with all the tools infront of him. Its not about the lack of skills or talent, its about hunger...

Team says he doesnt eat after a bad innings.. that just shows his child like mentality. Not everyone can be like Kohli, MJ or Kobe. Their mentality is a world apart compared to everyone else.
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Babar is in a dream like situation that very quality batsman would envy.

Pakistan has a low performance cricket culture and dressing room environment where cakes are cut and mithai is distributed after someone scores a century in a losing cause.

There is no cutthroat, competitive environment where there is little room for failure because someone will always be breathing on your neck.

Babar can fail for 2 years and there will be no one to take his spot in the team such is the lack of talent in Pakistan.

Moreover, in the Pakistan dressing room environment, selfish batting and chasing personal milestones is encouraged.

The entire cricket culture of Pakistan suffers from mass delusion where the players, ex-players, coaches, selectors, media analysts and fans know nothing about cricket and have no cricketing IQ.

Pakistan is truly a bankrupt cricket nation in every sense of the word and screams mediocrity.

As far as English is concerned, we have convinced ourselves that the National captain embarrassing himself on a daily basis with his poor communication skills is not a problem because it shows we don’t have colonial mentality, but then few hours after failing to string together two sentences in English, his Twitter account comes with a long tweet with grammatically perfect English.

If there is no need for him to speak English there is no need for him to pay a bunch of people to tweet for him in English.
 
I can certainly say Aggarwal and Gill have the same kind of potential as babar in tests. Shaw- if he consistently gets a run.
Not too many other batsmen come to my mind from india atm.

Rana said:
Can the sensible Indian fans verify the final sentence?

@sensible_Indian_fan @bhag_viru_Bhag [MENTION=2099]Cricket[/MENTION]enthusiast [MENTION=132715]Varun[/MENTION]
Click to expand...
 
Mamoon said:
As far as English is concerned, we have convinced ourselves that the National captain embarrassing himself on a daily basis with his poor communication skills is not a problem because it shows we don’t have colonial mentality, but then few hours after failing to string together two sentences in English, his Twitter account comes with a long tweet with grammatically perfect English.

If there is no need for him to speak English there is no need for him to pay a bunch of people to tweet for him in English.
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I know right? I dare him to speak this out loud in English or Urdu - he'll falter hard:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Words cannot define the gratitude I have for my fans & especially the people of my country. This couldn’t have been possible without your unwavering support & trust. Thank you for making me feel blessed & honoured. Keep supporting. Keep praying. Keep believing. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PakistanZindabad?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PakistanZindabad</a> <a href="https://t.co/oR4UF6xqmK">pic.twitter.com/oR4UF6xqmK</a></p>— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) <a href="https://twitter.com/babarazam258/status/1382411016701673473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Not sure why people are piling on Babar tbh.. Zimbabwe are probably a county level side at best and this series was always going to be a lose-lose series for Pakistan.

A century against Zimbabwe wouldn't have meant much and a duck against Zimbabwe isn't going to mean anything either. Babar's legacy in Test cricket is not going to be defined by his knocks against Zimbabwe, but rather his overseas performances, particularly in the SENA countries.
 
Mamoon said:
Babar is in a dream like situation that very quality batsman would envy.

Pakistan has a low performance cricket culture and dressing room environment where cakes are cut and mithai is distributed after someone scores a century in a losing cause.

There is no cutthroat, competitive environment where there is little room for failure because someone will always be breathing on your neck.

Babar can fail for 2 years and there will be no one to take his spot in the team such is the lack of talent in Pakistan.

Moreover, in the Pakistan dressing room environment, selfish batting and chasing personal milestones is encouraged.

The entire cricket culture of Pakistan suffers from mass delusion where the players, ex-players, coaches, selectors, media analysts and fans know nothing about cricket and have no cricketing IQ.

Pakistan is truly a bankrupt cricket nation in every sense of the word and screams mediocrity.

As far as English is concerned, we have convinced ourselves that the National captain embarrassing himself on a daily basis with his poor communication skills is not a problem because it shows we don’t have colonial mentality, but then few hours after failing to string together two sentences in English, his Twitter account comes with a long tweet with grammatically perfect English.

If there is no need for him to speak English there is no need for him to pay a bunch of people to tweet for him in English.
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Totally agree with what you said.

Babar has the chance to change the culture of pakistan cricket, he has basically a decade and a half of captaincy and no one comes close to his batting prowess in pakistan..

But does he have the mentality and hunger to do it?

It doesnt look like it. I think by now we wouldve seen it in his personality or in his innings by looking to dominate.

Hes not the mamba we all hoped for. Hes not the leader pakistan cricket envied for. Kohli will go down with the greatest professional athletes of all time.

Mentality sets apart the greats from the GOATs..
 
Sir-fraz said:
At best i think he will avg 45 in tests... hes soft and doesnt have the mentality to be the best of the best. Dudes posing as a weight lifter on twitter.. but you can clearly see he has zero ounce of muscle of his frame... idc about that stuff, but as an professional athlete he should have top fitness.. more muscle = more power/strength. More explosive movements etc..

He doesnt have an athletes fitness, seems content at the level hes at. By now we shouldve seen a drastic change in his personality, because you feel he would get more confident, but hes still meek.

He has the money to hire an english teacher and learn, that shows growth and iq and the hunger to better oneself...

But he hasnt done that either... so i dont seem him getting to the top tier.

He doesnt have the hunger to be the best version of himself, especially with all the tools infront of him. Its not about the lack of skills or talent, its about hunger...

Team says he doesnt eat after a bad innings.. that just shows his child like mentality. Not everyone can be like Kohli, MJ or Kobe. Their mentality is a world apart compared to everyone else.
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Kohli at 26 had a fire in his eyes attitude. He scored 4 tons in 4 matches in Australia and was giving it back to the Australians in their own backyard, even if his team was not performing to the same level. Still remember that knock at MCG, when he was taking on Mitchell Johnson. This was MJ v2.0 fresh after battering the English in the Ashes and the Saffers in their own backyard and Kohli was actually sledging him deliberately after hitting every boundary lol.

Current Kohli is not the same Kohli that was 5 years ago. Vegan Kohli has become a vanilla version of the past fiery Kohli. He doesn't seem to have the same fire and hunger to succeed and seems almost content to retire and turn to family life.
 
street cricketer said:
Kohli at 26 had a fire in his eyes attitude. He scored 4 tons in 4 matches in Australia and was giving it back to the Australians in their own backyard, even if his team was not performing to the same level. Still remember that knock at MCG, when he was taking on Mitchell Johnson. This was MJ v2.0 fresh after battering the English in the Ashes and the Saffers in their own backyard and Kohli was actually sledging him deliberately after hitting every boundary lol.

Current Kohli is not the same Kohli that was 5 years ago. Vegan Kohli has become a vanilla version of the past fiery Kohli. He doesn't seem to have the same fire and hunger to succeed and seems almost content to retire and turn to family life.
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Needs to get off the vegan diet... especially as a professional athlete. Cant get all the micro nutrients through vegis only. Vegans dont want to accept that but its true.

Kohli should stick with what was working. Im not gonna comment on his personal life. But if you look at MJ and Kobe, who had similar mindsets they had women who didnt interfere with their husbands greatness, they had kids too.

But anuksha has a career herself and an ego i dont know her personally but clearly shes trying to change kohli which isnt good. Dude is an alpha among alphas..

She should be trying to support his mamba mentality. She seems to be trying to kill it.
 
Some Pakistan fans let Babar's white ball career cloud their judgment about his Test career which is okay to date but far from the world-class record someone of his ability ought to possess.

I cannot recall a single knock that has influenced the course of a Test from him.

He was culpable during those run chases against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in 2017 and 2018 that cost us our UAE unbeaten run. He had the chance to score a hundred in the 1st innings at Old Trafford last summer but got out first thing the next morning, after his usual array of pretty drives and cuts. When we badly needed someone to stand up in the 2nd innings he got out to a poor shot.

Lately Fawad, Rizwan and Faheem have produced more clutch knocks.
 
Markhor said:
Some Pakistan fans let Babar's white ball career cloud their judgment about his Test career which is okay to date but far from the world-class record someone of his ability ought to possess.

I cannot recall a single knock that has influenced the course of a Test from him.

He was culpable during those run chases against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in 2017 and 2018 that cost us our UAE unbeaten run. He had the chance to score a hundred in the 1st innings at Old Trafford last summer but got out first thing the next morning, after his usual array of pretty drives and cuts. When we badly needed someone to stand up in the 2nd innings he got out to a poor shot.

Lately Fawad, Rizwan and Faheem have produced more clutch knocks.
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I agree. Babar is rated highly because of the potential he posses and at the moment in test cricket he is not producing returns upto his level. However, again I would like to point out he is 26 and is not perfect by any means. Taking everything into account it wont be wrong to expect him to come good in the coming years.

However, in next year or so it would be high time for him to start creating impact at test level as thats around the time most top players started touching their peaks.
 
Unlike others, can we assume that Babar is indeed 26 since he and his family have been documented well over the years thanks to the high profile Akmals?
 
I am taking the stupid most trollish route of predicting things here. Here are Babar Azams career stats at the end of his career IMO (stats matter, opinions do not but opinions are fun so who cares)

ODIs : ~10K Runs at 58-60 Average

Tests : 6-7K Runs at 45-50 Average

T20I : 4K Runs at ~50 Average

He will score more than 20K overall International runs and will be the true batting ATG from Pakistan (If some controversy doesn't halt his career which is why predictions are stupid)

Btw he has already scored 8K+ international runs with similar averages.
 
MesonK said:
I am taking the stupid most trollish route of predicting things here. Here are Babar Azams career stats at the end of his career IMO (stats matter, opinions do not but opinions are fun so who cares)

ODIs : ~10K Runs at 58-60 Average

Tests : 6-7K Runs at 45-50 Average

T20I : 4K Runs at ~50 Average

He will score more than 20K overall International runs and will be the true batting ATG from Pakistan (If some controversy doesn't halt his career which is why predictions are stupid)

Btw he has already scored 8K+ international runs with similar averages.
Click to expand...

43-44 test average in test cricket is a really good one though not Worldclass.
Contrary to what many people think, test cricket is Babar’s final frontier before he is considered Fab 4 or 5 or whatever because his competition are world-class in test cricket with avg above 50+. Steve Smith and Kane are actually not even that good in T20s, yet it’s the performance in test cricket that gets the nod from the cricket pundits.
Babar’s domestic FC average is 42-43. That’s reflected in his Test record as well. It remains to be seen if he can take his red ball game to the same LOI levels. He needs couple of big seasons and some 150s, 200s etc without which it’s not easy to break the 50 average barrier. Babar hasn’t scored big hundreds yet and I hope he does.
Pakistan batsmen who averaged 50+ in Test cricket also averaged 50+ in FC like Younis Khan. In current team only Fawad Alam averages 50+ in FC
 
Babar just isn't a test batsman. And for some reason hasn't improved one iota since he debuted in tests which is disappointing to say the least. I remember Kohli had a lot of shortcomings in his early test career in comparison to LOIs but eventually got the hang of it. Same with Rohit.
Babar just hasn't showed any improvement. A failure in that regards.
 
Mamoon said:
The Fab Four were all far more accomplished and prolific Test batsmen at 26.

Babar has never averaged close to 50 in Test cricket and has 1 only Test hundred outside Asia.

Moreover, he is delivering golden ducks against Zimbabwe and was getting LBW to Maharaj’s arm balls on placid wickets.

He has a long, long way to go before he can be compared to the best in the world.

He is lucky we don’t play India - Ashwin and Jadeja would run circles around him on Indian pitches.
Click to expand...

Forget Fab 4. If he could be close to YK/ MoYo level it would be an achievement.
 
Yes, I agree with the posters here. On current form/technique and specially given his FC stats, he seems more like Saeed Anwar mold than Yousuf mold. His ODI and List A stats both in domestic and internationals overshadow his FC and Test Stats
 
Cant imagine the shock to Babar's system here

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 55.370%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/yirqz1" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
Not easy captaining Pakistan, is it? How did he not see that fielder? Of course he did, but you know what I am talking about. Rizwan should be the captain of PCT in all formats.
 
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