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Babar Azam - T20I Captaincy Watch

As a Captain.
Matches played -7
No Result -2
Won - 2 (Against Bangladesh)
Lost -3 (2-Aus + 1-Eng )

Runs: 234
50's -4
 
That's what he said. What goes on behind closed doors is not something we are privy to. The fact that he can decide for himself with Misbah at the helm is something i find very hard to believe. But if it was indeed his decision than it was a terrible one and hopefully he will eventually learn when it will hurt the team.

But most of all he needs to be assertive and not a Yes man or people pleaser. Because I dont think he has the freedom to operate in the ideal capacity and I don't know if he is cut out to demand that. Only time will tell. He is not the best captain there is but he was chosen by the authorities and there is nothing to do but back him especially since their are very pitiful and uncertain alternatives.

He said it in a press conference unless misbah stated they will play so he agreed and said it.he will learn as a captain but he gotta make his own decisions good thing is he stil getting runs even thou hes captained
 
They lose one game, and then people get over-emotional and call for Babar to be replaced. He has to learn on the job, so hopefully he learns and that happens going forwards.

The game was in the balance till approx halfway through the Eng innings, then he took off Shadab after 2 overs instead of keeping him going.

He didn't bowl Hafeez, which made me check if Hafeez is banned again (he is NOT, so very odd decision to bowl Iftikhar ahead of him. Hafeez is still a better bowler than Iftikhar).

Malik seemed to be unofficial vice-captain, and Babar obviously respects the 'senior' player giving advice instead of taking the decisions himself. That needs to stop. Babar seems too nice, so team management need to make the call to remove Malik. That way Babar will be forced to use his own brain. And anyway we cannot have two 40-year olds at #3 and #4 (don't tell me they're still in their 30s because I don't believe it!), so as Malik doesn't bowl and his batting is in decline, he should be dropped.

No people are not saying he needs to he replaced people are sayint he needs to make his own mistake and listen to himself rather than other players if he makes mistakes fair enough but that mistake yesterday came from pressure
 
Imad would have been a sensible choice for t20 captain. babar is a bit too timid and underconfident when it comes to tactics. Misbah and Younis should be the only ones he needs to discuss his strategy beforehand, and on the field maybe just involve one guy whether it's hafeez or malik or imad.
Too many cooks always spoil the broth.
He is naive as a captain, don't think he has led enough in domestic cricket, before being handed reigns of both LOI's.

Hes was one of them in contention but went with babar
 
I think becouse hes the best batesman and proved it also maybe cuz hes got the respect of the team also theirs no others barring imad

Does he have any qualities that can project into becoming a good captain?

For example, to be successful in any leadership position one must possess the human quality of Leadership. Is Babar a Leader of Men? I don't think so. What are some other qualities a captain should have?
 
Does he have any qualities that can project into becoming a good captain?

For example, to be successful in any leadership position one must possess the human quality of Leadership. Is Babar a Leader of Men? I don't think so. What are some other qualities a captain should have?

I blame the PCB and the Karachi management team becouse he literally had no captain experience and we no you gain confidence whilst your in the role I belive he did captin the u19s team ?.I dont think of men.lets start when you have 2 x captains in the team it's always going to be hard for a new upcoming captain but when asif ali got out against the last tour babar was fuming with asif Ali.but if hafeez and malik did the same would he be fuming no becouse they are much more experienced and he asked for them to be in the team.


My point is hafeez and malik have made it harder for babar and not easier.

Captain should be able to soak up pressure
Decision making
Lead by example
Confident
Adapt to different situations

We need to give him sometime but with hafeez and Malik thier its ganna be hard for him to make his own decisions
 
Captaincy taking a toll on his batting? Or is it simply a case of being a little out of touch and rusty in white ball cricket.

He looked extremely stressed out there today. Had a pained look on his face for most of the innings today. In both the games his batting has looked stiff. He has played an uncharacteristic number of dot balls from my perspective, would be interesting to see the data. Hardly nailed the cover drives or cut shot. Last innings missed a number of hit me balls. In both the innings he got out on pretty ordinary deliveries.

Really makes one think if he is cut out for captaincy in white ball cricket. Maybe he'll do better in red ball cricket, where he wouldn't feel so rushed in his batting.
 
Lovely fielding from him - had 2 slips when Shaheen was bowling but didnt give Shaheen 3rd over - could have put England under pressure.
 
Babar losing the plot a bit again today - started to panic as Pakistan started choking, and seemed to have quite a rift with Haris with the last 2 balls of the game. Needs to keep his calm and properly handle his players.
 
Didnt need to lose his cool with Rauf at the end but the way the latter responded back to him after the last ball was very uncalled for. You cant have players doing that to the captain on camera. If the management wants Babar to be his own man and have authority over the team, then they need to make sure the players understand it too.
 
Babar got mad at a terrible ball of Rauf's that was smashed for six and then Rauf responded angrily also, gesturing aggressively. Then after Rauf got a dot ball at the end of the game, Rauf again was making angry gestures. Dude needs to chill.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Babar Azam brought it on himself. How lame was it actually. Haris Rauf rightfully putting the Chhotu in his place.

Great batsman but needs to learn to behave and lead.
 
Babar Azam brought it on himself. How lame was it actually. Haris Rauf rightfully putting the Chhotu in his place.

Great batsman but needs to learn to behave and lead.

He could learn a great deal from Chokli on how to behave and lead :mv maybe they can help each other out, Babar can show him how to deal with lateral movement in wet conditions in exchange for his gracious wisdoms :yk
 
Not impressed... Too predetermined and scripted for T20s :sanga


Your best player isn't necessarily your best choice for captain. I'd try Rizwan or Shadab or even Imad.
 
He could learn a great deal from Chokli on how to behave and lead :mv maybe they can help each other out, Babar can show him how to deal with lateral movement in wet conditions in exchange for his gracious wisdoms :yk

Misbah is there in his camp so he needs to look no further. Sarfraz has the same issue but today it was good to see him trying to call things down.
 
Misbah is there in his camp so he needs to look no further. Sarfraz has the same issue but today it was good to see him trying to call things down.

Babar Azam lead very well all things considered and finally took control, the Pakistani's are not a civil bunch like us English; imagine Joe Root leading a team like Pakistan in his early 20's :yk2
 
Misbah is there in his camp so he needs to look no further. Sarfraz has the same issue but today it was good to see him trying to call things down.

You gotta allow players to express themselves it’s good to see passion on the field.

Pakistani players aren’t smart like Indians they play with daleri.
:akhtar :wahab :imad
 
Babar Azam lead very well all things considered and finally took control, the Pakistani's are not a civil bunch like us English; imagine Joe Root leading a team like Pakistan in his early 20's :yk2

Joe Root will be clueless. His soul would have been crushed and he would have retired.

Babar did well overall but these are not minor issues. Fast bowlers are temperamental and unless there is a huge seniority difference, it's highly inappropriate to blast your fast bowler like that. No bowler deliberately bowls bad. Should have instead talked to him.and helped him deal with the nerves. He did exactly the opposite and was put in place on live TV. Not a good show for viewers and not good for team harmony.
 
You gotta allow players to express themselves it’s good to see passion on the field.

Pakistani players aren’t smart like Indians they play with daleri.
:akhtar :wahab :imad

Expressing yourself does not include insulting your fast bowler on live TV. It was not passion but unprofessional conduct and I expect Misbah, Younis to have have strict word with Babar about this. He's not a Wasim or Imran level cricketer in that group.

This is equavalent of being shouted at by your boss at work place
 
Joe Root will be clueless. His soul would have been crushed and he would have retired.

Babar did well overall but these are not minor issues. Fast bowlers are temperamental and unless there is a huge seniority difference, it's highly inappropriate to blast your fast bowler like that. No bowler deliberately bowls bad. Should have instead talked to him.and helped him deal with the nerves. He did exactly the opposite and was put in place on live TV. Not a good show for viewers and not good for team harmony.

Trust me bro after seeing guys like Misbah and Azhar for years this is a breath of fresh fire
:afridi1
 
Joe Root will be clueless. His soul would have been crushed and he would have retired.

Babar did well overall but these are not minor issues. Fast bowlers are temperamental and unless there is a huge seniority difference, it's highly inappropriate to blast your fast bowler like that. No bowler deliberately bowls bad. Should have instead talked to him.and helped him deal with the nerves. He did exactly the opposite and was put in place on live TV. Not a good show for viewers and not good for team harmony.

Some players just respond better when you show them aggression, each person is different; Babar did well to match Rauf's energy, imagine how Akram would have reacted as captain. In the end Rauf nailed the fuller length to help Pak win the game once Babar had a word with him, but I agree not good when you're watching with the family here in England but the Pakistani's have bought some great entertainment here!
 
Some players just respond better when you show them aggression, each person is different; Babar did well to match Rauf's energy, imagine how Akram would have reacted as captain. In the end Rauf nailed the fuller length to help Pak win the game once Babar had a word with him, but I agree not good when you're watching with the family here in England but the Pakistani's have bought some great entertainment here!
Agreed I think it’s an encouraging sign to see the Pakistani players fired up
 
Babar Azam brought it on himself. How lame was it actually. Haris Rauf rightfully putting the Chhotu in his place.

Great batsman but needs to learn to behave and lead.

Wow, have to say that's a really strange response. A newbie bowler should put the captain in his place, you say?

What a rebel you are.
 
Babar over reacted thinking they were about to lose from winning position. However, that was not fair on the bowler as he was trying to out fox the batsman with his delivery. Results are not always what you want. Overall Harris bowled with lot of passion and good variation.
 
I think he did decent today.

Already showed improvement after last match.

I think the 2nd T20 match has matured him. He was being vocal today. Also was pumped up while he was batting.
 
Babar is not a natural leader nor is he capable of developing into one. Captaining Pakistan is not a joke. The bigger, craftier personalities will quickly exploit him for their own gain.

Let him get his head down and bat. If we need a LOI captain either Imad Wasim or Rizwan can do the job now.
 
Babar Azam in his post match press conference after the 3rd T20I vs England mentioned that all the decisions are made by him, he takes advice from others, but the final call is his.
 
Folk want Babar to give up the arm band just after he won a game thanks to his leadership, additionally he is a young leader finding his feet and will most likely be groomed to take over from Azar to

For a keeper it is taxing to do two jobs across all forms, to lead is another big stress. And how is Imad even being considered, the bloke can't bat and is allegedly a 'spinner' who can't actually spin the ball! hillarious :yk
 
Babar over reacted thinking they were about to lose from winning position. However, that was not fair on the bowler as he was trying to out fox the batsman with his delivery. Results are not always what you want. Overall Harris bowled with lot of passion and good variation.

He didnt bowl to the plan if he wanted to bowl that bowl he should have changed the field
 
Much better by babar azam today he took control and made the decisions himself.its good that babar had a go at rauf as he didnt bowl to the field it was also good on rauf to excutue the Yorker on the last bowl and was fired up well done both
 
Why was Haris Rauf acting like a buffoon at the end? No respect at all for his captain let alone the best player in the side. Should be talked to in the dressing room and brought down to earth.
 
Babar's captaincy was proactive as he chose to bowl Wahab in the 19th over. His fielding led to the run out of Morgan. Today, it seemed he was active and reactive which was wonderful to see.
As a captain, he has to identify the new ball bowlers, middle over bowlers and death bowling. Records suggest that Wahab is a wonderful death bowler and you can give him 2-3 overs at the death. Shaheen looks good as a new bowl baller and if he is getting a good spell he should get 3 overs on the trot. Shadab's quota should be ended in the middle overs around 13/14th over along with Imad. Out of the remaining 6 overs, Shaheen can bowl 1 and the remaining two fast bowlers should bowl the remaining 5 of which ideally Wahab gets 3. I know I am being generic but playing to the strength wins you games even if it becomes a bit predictable.
Right now, I am really happy to see Babar learning and evolving as a captain. The things I have written above will need time once he understands the strengths and weaknesses of his players.
My best wishes are with him as a skipper.
 
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Just rewatched the footage as I was confused about the reactions here - hadn’t particularly noticed anything the first time I watched.

In short, you people are over reacting fantastically. Babar scolded him and rightly so, and Rauf didn’t really seem aggressive at all towards Babar in response. Just seemed to be holding his ground and explaining what he had attempted to do (which I expect from anyone who is not meek). He definitely didn’t come across as questioning Babar’s authority - in fact, as everyone was walking off, him and Babar were walking together side by side and he was discussing in a relatively calm manner while it was actually Babar who was fired up.

All in all, this is good. Babar is beginning to exert his authority as captain - it’s important to show your players you mean business and you’re monitoring their every ball. Cameras be damned, god bless Babar who has proved me wrong - I didn’t think he had it in him.

Copying my comments about Babar from another thread.

Would like to add that I am very impressed by the fact that he is exerting power in the dressing room — he overruled Misbah and dropped Misbah’s favorite youngster Iftikhar Ahmed in favor of Haider Ali, and though we may disagree with Sarfaraz replacing Rizwan, this is clearly Babar’s selection not Misbah’s (as Misbah is the one who dropped Sarfaraz for Rizwan, while Babar is much closer to Sarfaraz).

While many PP posters disagree with this in principle, it does mean that Babar is not a puppet captain. He makes his own decisions regarding selection, and Misbah gives him the freedom to do so. He also clearly backed Shadab and Imad to go in over Shoaib Malik which shows more independence in his decision making, while his outburst at Rauf indicates his expectations from his team — positive pressure from the skip towards his players.

To be honest, it’s only his third series and been under a year but he’s learning quickly despite his introverted nature.
 
Babar's captaincy was proactive as he chose to bowl Wahab in the 19th over. His fielding led to the run out of Morgan. Today, it seemed he was active and reactive which was wonderful to see.
As a captain, he has to identify the new ball bowlers, middle over bowlers and death bowling. Records suggest that Wahab is a wonderful death bowler and you can give him 2-3 overs at the death. Shaheen looks good as a new bowl baller and if he is getting a good spell he should get 3 overs on the trot. Shadab's quota should be ended in the middle overs around 13/14th over along with Imad. Out of the remaining 6 overs, Shaheen can bowl 1 and the remaining two fast bowlers should bowl the remaining 5 of which ideally Wahab gets 3. I know I am being generic but playing to the strength wins you games even if it becomes a bit predictable.
Right now, I am really happy to see Babar learning and evolving as a captain. The things I have written above will need time once he understands the strengths and weaknesses of his players.
My best wishes are with him as a skipper.

Fully agree with this as well.
 
Babar over reacted thinking they were about to lose from winning position. However, that was not fair on the bowler as he was trying to out fox the batsman with his delivery. Results are not always what you want. Overall Harris bowled with lot of passion and good variation.

The problem was he tried to outfox his captain too.

You can't be doing that in crunch situations because the margins are so thin. Babar probably never expected him to bowl something like that considering the field he had set.
 
Pakistan wins 71% of games when Babar scores below 30.

Pak wins 76% when Babar Azam plays 35 balls and 61% when he plays more than 35 balls.
 
I thought he did really well yesterday, good to see him asserting his authority, didn't think he had it in him and was happy to be proven wrong.

It was also clear to see that the others weren't crowding around him as much, Malik and Sarfaraz gave their opinions as you would expect, but Babar was alot more sturdy with his decision making.
 
Babar at the presser regarding captaincy: “You may feel that there are ideas and messages coming from the dressing room but I don’t think that’s happening. In the team, we have players with experience and whenever I need something, I go to them and if they feel something, they let me know. This is a learning point for me, I’m learning and these things help me to get better in the field and with handling the bowlers. Decision making is mine, whoever has something to contribute comes to me but the decision is mine.”
 
He was better in the 3rd game. He can get advice but the problem was in the 2nd T20 for every decision he needed advice.

He should grow with more experience.
 
I thought he did really well yesterday, good to see him asserting his authority, didn't think he had it in him and was happy to be proven wrong.

It was also clear to see that the others weren't crowding around him as much, Malik and Sarfaraz gave their opinions as you would expect, but Babar was alot more sturdy with his decision making.

He also did it to asif ali when he gave his wicket away last tour
 
Why was Haris Rauf acting like a buffoon at the end? No respect at all for his captain let alone the best player in the side. Should be talked to in the dressing room and brought down to earth.

Maybe passion I wouldnt read much into it
 
Selfless captaincy today. He allowed Abdullah Shafique open and he gave the newer guys time to bat when he didn't have to.
 
Selfless captaincy today. He allowed Abdullah Shafique open and he gave the newer guys time to bat when he didn't have to.

Very enjoyable captaincy to be honest, and he always backs his bowlers and the keeper with DRS decisions even if they’re a bit shaky. Though a lot of the decisions went against us, it shows he’s a positive skipper and always looking for wickets, while also giving his bowlers confidence.

He’s not an Imran Khan like he set out to be, but if he turns out like a Kane Williamson I will be very happy.

In turn, Shadab as vice-captain is a healthy option to groom while Babar finds his feet.

I think the projected plan should be for Babar to take over Tests and ODIs while Shadab eventually takes over in T20 matches.
 
Very enjoyable captaincy to be honest, and he always backs his bowlers and the keeper with DRS decisions even if they’re a bit shaky. Though a lot of the decisions went against us, it shows he’s a positive skipper and always looking for wickets, while also giving his bowlers confidence.

He’s not an Imran Khan like he set out to be, but if he turns out like a Kane Williamson I will be very happy.

In turn, Shadab as vice-captain is a healthy option to groom while Babar finds his feet.

I think the projected plan should be for Babar to take over Tests and ODIs while Shadab eventually takes over in T20 matches.

Agree, Babar has bigger fish to fry.
 
Very enjoyable captaincy to be honest, and he always backs his bowlers and the keeper with DRS decisions even if they’re a bit shaky. Though a lot of the decisions went against us, it shows he’s a positive skipper and always looking for wickets, while also giving his bowlers confidence.

He’s not an Imran Khan like he set out to be, but if he turns out like a Kane Williamson I will be very happy.

In turn, Shadab as vice-captain is a healthy option to groom while Babar finds his feet.

I think the projected plan should be for Babar to take over Tests and ODIs while Shadab eventually takes over in T20 matches.

I enjoyed his captincy today espically when he put a slip in when qadir was bowling
 
Horrible captain, any captain with any sense would have bowled Ifitkhar and Khusdil in the middle to get more overs of spin. Instead he only gets one over from them and now has to bowl 5 overs of Rauf, Shaheen and Faheem at that death on a pitch where its easy to hit fast bowlers.
 
Shaheen keeps bowling yorkers..and they all getting to boundaries through fine leg and third man yet Babar Azam keeps them in the circle. Brain Dead.
 
Too close in the end.

Some poor bowling really which made the captain look silly as he was setting the field the bowler wanted, but the pacers weren't bowling according to the field.
 
Too close in the end.

Some poor bowling really which made the captain look silly as he was setting the field the bowler wanted, but the pacers weren't bowling according to the field.

Harris Rauf bowling bouncers in the power play was so dumb.
 
Almoat bottled the match.

Smart move by babar not giving more overs to khushdil as he bowled a very terrible over. Surprised SA did not even attack him there
 
Babar has now won 7 out of his 12 T20I's as captain so far.
 
The bowling was terrible they didnt bowl to the fielding placements.babar could have given an over to iftikhar.
 
Baber is a great player.... But not a good captain.. I think under his captaincy Pakistan talent will suffer a lot...
So for what i have seen of his captaincy he is not bold enough to encourage younger and new boys.
Always has a fear.. That's fear of defeat.. That's Your he hesitant to replace Abid Ali,
He is even hesitant to rest Shaheen and Faheem
Your thoughts@ Mamoon
 
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While there werent exactly some master strokes but, I beleive Babar has been doing a pretty decent job till now and has been doing the basics right. Even in the last match he kept his cool throughout the match when there was some rubbish bowling going on from the pacers where they were bowling opposite to their fields. In the last match did well to ball Shaheen and Rauf the 18th and 19th over. There were 19 runs to defend in the last over which would have been enough 9/10 times, though it came more close than Babar would have liked.

Babar's calmness has been his biggest strength till now as the captains we have had in recent times would have had their heads hanging in both the tests as well as last T20 vs SA which would have brought the confidence and the morale of the team down. So on that front it has been a pretty decent upgrade. Cant pinpoint much issues with his bowling changes as well rather they have been decent, regarding field settings maybe he needs to interact with the bowler more so that the bowler also takes the responsibility of where he wants to ball and where he wants to take the fielders.
 
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Why does Babar always review when he gets out ? Does he think, the review belongs personally for him and not the whole team. He doesn't have any cricketing sense unfortunately.
 
Poor team selection too. Last match fast bowlers bowled 11-0-115-2 (10.50 ER) while the spinners really troubled SA with 8-0-42-2 (5.25 ER) yet for the next match you don't include a third spinner ?????
 
Babar is turning out to be big disappointment. Its clear now that he cant handle the captaincy pressure. Rizwan will hopefully takeover the T20 reigns from him after the worldcup.
 
SA need 26 from 36, with 6 wickets in hand. Dot balls are meaningless, wickets are all that matters.

Yet Babar brings in Ifti instead of the only dangerous bowler in the whole innings Shaheen?
 
Need Shadab or Rizwan to take up captaincy and let Babar focus on batting only.
 
Very poor captaincy today.

Had South Africa at 48/6 and let them off the hook with some defensive tactics and strange bowling changes.
 
No idea what made anyone think he was captaincy material. I hope it wasn't because he's our best batsman.
 
7 down and on the ropes. Then captain fantastic again thinks he’s the man and poor captaincy costs 100 runs...

Wkt is turning. SA struggle against spin anyway. So captain decides to bring on pace and doesn’t use full allocation of spin...
 
Babar is only proving what most of us have known to be true . . He just isn't a captain, period! Ball turning, most wickets by the spinners. . and you have 3 overs by spinners left . .
Now dropping from opening to 1 down after 2 failures when he has opened most of his career in T20?! one of them a run out . . like, who is making these decisions?!
 
Left nawaz with 2 overs spare n qadir with one when the spinners did so much damage

Then lets faheem bowl the last over when hes not good enough

Hes left south africa off the hook here n potentially lost pakistan the series
 
Wasnt a great game from a captincy view from babar.

Left qadir with an order to bowl.2 overs left from nawaz.had to many bowling options and didnt use the resources properly.bowling fahim on the last over nearly got Pakistan the game.

However its a learning curve and will get better by each series.


It was a good decision to drop down to 3
 
Babar is only proving what most of us have known to be true . . He just isn't a captain, period! Ball turning, most wickets by the spinners. . and you have 3 overs by spinners left . .
Now dropping from opening to 1 down after 2 failures when he has opened most of his career in T20?! one of them a run out . . like, who is making these decisions?!

personally i think dropping down to 3 was a good decision hes batted at 3 many times it did pay off in the end
 
Has to be the worst T20 captain in Pakistan’s history. A good batsman doesn’t mean he’ll make a good captain.

Knowing that the game won’t be going the full 20 overs, the captain brings in Faheem Ashraf for his first over in the 12th over. Instead, he should’ve bowled out either Shaheen or Hassan.

If Pakistan wants to do well in the WT20, Babar cannot continue as the captain.
 
Bringing Faheem on was bizarre. But all the bowlers got tonked anyway
 
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