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Babar Azam - Test Captaincy performance watch

King_Kohli

King_Kohli

First Class Captain
Joined
Sep 18, 2019
Runs
5,754
Set to make his captaincy debut at home against SA.
All the best
 
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"Aggression on the field, according to me, isn't a good thing. It doesn't look good on the TV"

:sarf2
 
Babar Azam - Test Captain performance watch

His first Test as captain vs SA in Karachi.

How is he doing so far? Team selection for this game is his as per reports so has he done well?
 
It may be too early to say but I don’t see him being a good Captain. My assumptions are based on a proven fact that not necessarily your best Batsman can be your Captain,on contrary good bowlers are always better captains. Babar azam to me is ,if not a FTB, a soft scorer like Kallis. It however must be mentioned every run he scores irrespective of conditions is important for the team. Nauman Ali may do well in this test or for 2-3 years but then you will be looking for replacement for both your spinners and there are none. I rather have Tabish Khan play because this guy has 598 FC wickets, even if he was to fudge his age he surely looks younger than Nauman.
 
I don't see him as an individual who can bring any innovation to the cricket captaincy role. The best I can hope from him is that hopefully, the captaincy gets the best out of him as a batsman.
 
Babar on the way to be Next Sachin as Captain

As the title reads- my perspective so far - it’s probably premature to say as we are mid way through his captaincy tenure nevertheless...

The comparison’s between the two are very similar and there for us to see history is on repeat here just in different Colours.

Sachin faced similar fate/task -took over a mediocre Indian team full of has been and big “shows” - being the one of the best batsmen of the era at the time too.

Just as Babar who exploded and took his game to a different level -it seems given the captaincy he is bound to fail this early just as Sachin did too.

Great player but not the best captain.

Is history really on repeat Or will fate have something else in store for Babar-e-Azam?

Opinions...
 
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Maher96 said:
As the title reads- my perspective so far - it’s probably premature to say as we are mid way through his captaincy tenure nevertheless...

The comparison’s between the two are very similar and there for us to see history is on repeat here just in different Colours.

Sachin faced similar fate/task -took over a mediocre Indian team full of has been and big “shows” - being the one of the best batsmen of the era at the time too.

Just as Babar who exploded and took his game to a different level -it seems given the captaincy he is bound to fail this early just as Sachin did too.

Great player but not the best captain.

Is history really on repeat Or will fate have something else in store for Babar-e-Azam?

Opinions...
Click to expand...

If this is already “mid way” through Babar’s captaincy I feel sorry for PAK.

Also, you do not elaborate on the captaincy point in your post regarding his ability/lack of it.... why this opinion.

Not pulling your leg - I have not seen anything to think this may be a good idea and posted as such on some threads.

Curious to hear others.
 
Isn't this his first game as captain? He may not be a natural leader but he can obviously improve. If we don't have time to give him then make Rizwan the captain. There's no literally no one else who can make the team on merit more than Babar and Rizwan.
 
Even if he does Ok in series, Babar is a shy and introvert person, not a captaincy material . Can't score runs and lead the team. Handover test captaincy to Rizwan and let Babar score runs .
 
Pakistan needs to figure what they need the most, Babar the batter or Babar the captain. Babar the batsman will still do well. Even though Sachin gave up his captaincy, his Test batting was suffering a bit but not by much as he still average 51. Not bad but again he felt he wasn't able to bat freely and wasn't contributing enough with the bat. He gave up his captaincy in 1998 and that was the year he hit 9 ODI hundreds.

Pakistan needs to see how Babar does. Sometimes it is not just the runs they score but it is about how they feel doing the two roles if the team is failing to win games. Babar might not have the clarity like Sachin had to give up the captaincy which is why it is important for the team management to figure out if he is feeling the pressure and is not liking the role. Babar the batter is more crucial for Pakistan as I feel Rizwan is a better captaincy candidate for the side anyways.
 
giri26 said:
Pakistan needs to figure what they need the most, Babar the batter or Babar the captain. Babar the batsman will still do well. Even though Sachin gave up his captaincy, his Test batting was suffering a bit but not by much as he still average 51. Not bad but again he felt he wasn't able to bat freely and wasn't contributing enough with the bat. He gave up his captaincy in 1998 and that was the year he hit 9 ODI hundreds.

Pakistan needs to see how Babar does. Sometimes it is not just the runs they score but it is about how they feel doing the two roles if the team is failing to win games. Babar might not have the clarity like Sachin had to give up the captaincy which is why it is important for the team management to figure out if he is feeling the pressure and is not liking the role. Babar the batter is more crucial for Pakistan as I feel Rizwan is a better captaincy candidate for the side anyways.
Click to expand...

Obviously he needs to be given time as he is just starting but again if the team isn't doing well that is when the test of his character will come. It is one thing being the best batter in a failing team and completely different being the captain/best batter of a failing team.
 
How do people feel about Babar’s fielding and bowling decisions? I thought he was quite decent.
 
Very poor, but then every captain we’ve had recently has been poor.

This could be used to justify keeping him as captain. But this can also justify making anyone captain and giving babar the opportunity to concentrate on batting.
 
I think he did decently for his first test as captain, cant particularly point out any glaring error.

The fielder he placed for Yasir around the cover area showed decent understanding as the wicket was slow so there wouldnt have been many shots square of the wicket including the cut shots and that fielder actually save quite a few runs and boundaries when even some cut shots went into that region.

To nitpick maybe he could have communicated with his bowlers (Especially pacers) a bit more to understand what a bowler is trying to execute and how to create a field setting which can produce opportunities when the bowler gets it right, at the same time field to be supporting enough when he errs while trying to implement a plan.

As an example when Hasan was bowling post tea and getting the ball to reverse into the wickets but, in case of wrong line onto the pads it was either going for a single or a boundary, then couple of more leg side fielders in the inner circle could have been placed to provide support, create that bit of doubt in the mind of batsmen and at the same time opportunity as well in case of a miscued shot.

Overall as I said I think he did a decent job. He is a good learner so hopefully will keep on improving.
 
[MENTION=142432]Titan24[/MENTION] completely agree. To add to your points:

He kept Abid Ali at silly point despite a huge partnership. Led to two brilliant catches. Kept the pressure on and never spread the field. Good bowling changes, Faheem almost got a wicket as soon as he was brought on, Hassan and Shaheen were used in good bursts, and smart decision to bring Yasir from the other end which suddenly spiced everything up.

Keeping in mind he’ll develop too, Babar is my captain for the next 10 years.
 
Thunderbolt14 said:
[MENTION=142432]Titan24[/MENTION] completely agree. To add to your points:

He kept Abid Ali at silly point despite a huge partnership. Led to two brilliant catches. Kept the pressure on and never spread the field. Good bowling changes, Faheem almost got a wicket as soon as he was brought on, Hassan and Shaheen were used in good bursts, and smart decision to bring Yasir from the other end which suddenly spiced everything up.

Keeping in mind he’ll develop too, Babar is my captain for the next 10 years.
Click to expand...

Who is your captain for the next next 10 years?
 
MRSN said:
Who is your captain for the next next 10 years?
Click to expand...

Oh interesting question. Assuming Babar captains until he is 36 years old, and stops captaining in 2030, we would be looking for a captain in the 25-30 age range ideally.

That means they would have to be 6-11 years younger than Babar, so currently they would be 15-20 years old.

The best thinkers of the game in that age group who might make the Test team that I can see right now are Rohail Nazir, Saim Ayub, and Muhammad Huraira. No one else strikes me as smart to be completely honest. Shadab is a good choice too but not sure whether he will be good enough for Tests across all conditions, so can’t make him captain.

However, there’s a long, long time until 2031 so there’s no telling what might happen and who might emerge. One thing is for sure, there’s no one better than Babar right now, nor will there be anyone for another 10 years, because no one other than Babar has a confirmed spot in the team and can also take up captaincy responsibilities (I think Babar is a superior captain to Rizwan, who is the other option).
 
Huge test of Babar's leadership today and possibly tomorrow.
 
Excellent field placements. Leg slip to get a player out was a good move. Doing quite well!
 
Good use of resources as well - very impressed.
 
Babar back on form with the bat, and looking good to lead his side home in his first Test as captain. His captaincy and management of the bowlers throughout the 2 innings has been very good I feel.
 
First match and first win as captain at home against SA. Some pretty good field settings and use of resources. Hopefully can keep on improving.
 
I was really impressed with Babar's captaincy his feild placement & bowling changes were very impressive as well. I just hope as far batting is concerned this game was an anomaly for Babar.
 
Titan24 said:
First match and first win as captain at home against SA. Some pretty good field settings and use of resources. Hopefully can keep on improving.
Click to expand...

He did make some mistakes in the 2nd innings of SA with not bowling Noman enough in the first 50 overs.
 
Titan24 said:
First match and first win as captain at home against SA. Some pretty good field settings and use of resources. Hopefully can keep on improving.
Click to expand...

Only watched the highlights for the most part and apart from the very obvious, they do not tell much.

Would it be possible for you to elaborate on the field settings part?
 
I don't think he did anything special or anything absolutely awful. He will be captain for a while and I am fine with that. If he scores runs and doesn't cost us tactically, he will and should keep his job.
 
I think many of us have mistaken his shortcomings in public speaking for meekness/introversion. Recently, I'm getting the sense that he's actually quite a shrewd character. Has a good understanding of the game, and we all know that he's keen to learn all the time. I'm feeling good about his captaincy actually.
 
Third Man said:
I think many of us have mistaken his shortcomings in public speaking for meekness/introversion. Recently, I'm getting the sense that he's actually quite a shrewd character. Has a good understanding of the game, and we all know that he's keen to learn all the time. I'm feeling good about his captaincy actually.
Click to expand...

And he never pressed the panic button when south Africa was on the top of the game at 175-1
Though its very early to say but he seems to be someone from the williamson's school of captaincy
 
I liked the way he rotated his bowlers, tried out pace bowlers a fair deal instead of being a one dimensional, spin obsessed captain, in subcontinental conditions.
 
Impressive debut captaincy performance from Babar. Long may it continue
 
Yk313 said:
Only watched the highlights for the most part and apart from the very obvious, they do not tell much.

Would it be possible for you to elaborate on the field settings part?
Click to expand...

As I mentioned in my earlier post yesterday, the fielder in the deep cover/deep extra cover which he placed showed decent understanding in my opinion. Generally to give some support to leg spinner fielder is placed squarer in the deep point region but, as the wicket was slow and it wasnt easy for batsmen to play cuts square of the wicket so that fielder was able to stop some cut shorts coming towards that as well as some drives.

Further having leg slip in place today for Nauman was kind of a captain’s wicket when Nauman got Linde out by inside edge towards leg slip (Imran Butt).

These are couple of examples of something different than the ordinary which actually made an impact in the game. Liked what he was trying with his fields, might not always work but will learn as he keeps on leading the side.
 
There was nothing he did tactically in this test, Fawad and Faheem bailed them out while batting and that debutant spinner ran riot against hapless Saffers.
 
Rana said:
He did make some mistakes in the 2nd innings of SA with not bowling Noman enough in the first 50 overs.
Click to expand...

Nauman could have definitely bowled more in the first half of the 2nd innings. Yes there is roam for improvement and hopefully he will be working on the shortcomings but, overall liked the rotation and field settings in comparison to last 2-3 years.
 
Titan24 said:
As I mentioned in my earlier post yesterday, the fielder in the deep cover/deep extra cover which he placed showed decent understanding in my opinion. Generally to give some support to leg spinner fielder is placed squarer in the deep point region but, as the wicket was slow and it wasnt easy for batsmen to play cuts square of the wicket so that fielder was able to stop some cut shorts coming towards that as well as some drives.

Further having leg slip in place today for Nauman was kind of a captain’s wicket when Nauman got Linde out by inside edge towards leg slip (Imran Butt).

These are couple of examples of something different than the ordinary which actually made an impact in the game. Liked what he was trying with his fields, might not always work but will learn as he keeps on leading the side.
Click to expand...

Thank you, appreciate your explanation.

Saw the leg slip in action during the highlights. Good that he kept it and not just any fielder, but Butt, who appears to be value-additive on the field.

Traps are always very difficult to tie back to the wickets they may or may not induce (correlation/causation). Too many variables, including execution of the plan being one of them. Still, good to see when they come off.

Thanks!
 
A great start to hopefully a long and successful career. No obvious great inspirational pieces of captaincy or any howlers. He has to score runs and IA he will. I liked the way he batted in the 2nd innings against some decent pace bowling on a wicket which was keeping low.
 
Mir jibran said:
And he never pressed the panic button when south Africa was on the top of the game at 175-1
Though its very early to say but he seems to be someone from the williamson's school of captaincy
Click to expand...

Defonitely in tbe same mold of Williamson in terms of captaincy
 
He was calm, assured and did a decent job.

He's been groomed since his junior days so leading a team shouldn't be a problem for him.

He'll make mistakes and as long as he learns from them he'll be alright.

But people need to be patient as this Pakistan team is not the strongest.
 
In my opinion he is not made to lead national test team, his batting will suffer, which will be a big loss.

I'm OK him leading the white ball team.
 
Pakistan miss out on Bavuma wicket - Babar doesnt take review

7374895c-d35b-41ed-afea-90c867ce7d4b.jpg
 
Looked to be sliding down leg. Should have been Nauman’s call on how much it turned. Babar’s looked good today otherwise.
 
Thunderbolt14 said:
Looked to be sliding down leg. Should have been Nauman’s call on how much it turned. Babar’s looked good today otherwise.
Click to expand...

Nauman wanted it but Rizwan denied it, and Babar went with Rizwan.

His captaincy's been good overall
 
moghul said:
In my opinion he is not made to lead national test team, his batting will suffer, which will be a big loss.

I'm OK him leading the white ball team.
Click to expand...

What options does Pakistan have? Azhar and Fawad are both average and 35+.

Rizwan has only just cemented his place and captaincy duties might affect his keeping.

None of the fast bowlers can be considered for very obvious reasons. Yasir would be a left-field choice but appointing another 34-35 year old as captain is not worth it.

Pakistan needs some continuity and stability - a captain who can realistically lead the team for 6-7 years.

Babar is the only one who ticks most if not all boxes. He has no choice but to deal with the captaincy pressure and start scoring big runs.
 
Still early days to pass any judgement, But my concern is exactly how long he will have to captain given his age
 
Thunderbolt14 said:
Looked to be sliding down leg. Should have been Nauman’s call on how much it turned. Babar’s looked good today otherwise.
Click to expand...

Rizwan has so far been a pretty bad judge of reviews, Babar should realise this.

Also his weird staggered slip placement cost us a wicket, thankfully Hassan struck again in the over.

Rest has been fine I guess. His batting has been disappointing though, needs to get over this block where he keeps getting out early the next day.
 
Give him time.. Fans and media shouldn't be putting too much pressure on him...

I would give a run of 5 years for the below combo

Coach: Andy Flower or Kirsten
Captain: Babar
Selector: Wasim.
 
Babar Azam has missed two reviews in this test

Pathetic stuff by this guy. First it was that Bavuma lbw that he did not take. Even though we have 3 referrels.

Than Hasan Ali getting the glove from Linde

:facepalm:
 
Major said:
Pathetic stuff by this guy. First it was that Bavuma lbw that he did not take. Even though we have 3 referrels.

Than Hasan Ali getting the glove from Linde

:facepalm:
Click to expand...

Doesnot know about first one but Rizwan was culprit in second miss
 
final decision is with the captain not the keeper
 
Keeper has to play the biggest role when it comes to DRS. Rizwan may be one of the best WKs in Tests right now, but he’s one of the worst when it comes to deciding for reviews.
 
Line and Length said:
Keeper has to play the biggest role when it comes to DRS. Rizwan may be one of the best WKs in Tests right now, but he’s one of the worst when it comes to deciding for reviews.
Click to expand...

how is the keeper to be blamed.

The captain stands at the mid position, and everything is clearly viewable from there, especially catches.

The review decision is always the captains decision.

Now linde is attacking Paksitan
 
saeed5646 said:
Seriously?

Babar was standing at mid off while keeper has best angle especially when batsmen glove it
Click to expand...

oh bhai, u can see a glove from mid on.

Stop protecting the captain all the time. Its his decision which is final.
 
Major said:
oh bhai, u can see a glove from mid on.

Stop protecting the captain all the time. Its his decision which is final.
Click to expand...

If you watch most of the reviews by the other teams the captains will usually consult the keeper and slip fielders. Babar will learn with time.
 
This guy is just hating on Babar at this point.

It was clearly Rizwan's fault on both occasions.
 
JimmyGetsBuckets said:
If you watch most of the reviews by the other teams the captains will usually consult the keeper and slip fielders. Babar will learn with time.
Click to expand...

Learn? This is Pakistani team captaincy, you dont get to learn here you come prepared.

If he has no experiecne as captain and needs experience than Pakistani captiancy isnt the ideal job for him.

We have been cost 40 runs just because he is not experienced.
 
Darkrai said:
This guy is just hating on Babar at this point.

It was clearly Rizwan's fault on both occasions.
Click to expand...

than you are suggesting that Babar has lost authority and Rizwan has taken authority from him?

Anyone can give advice, but final decision for review lies with the captain, and he will be responsible.
 
Major said:
than you are suggesting that Babar has lost authority and Rizwan has taken authority from him?

Anyone can give advice, but final decision for review lies with the captain, and he will be responsible.
Click to expand...

Rizwan has the best view and he was confident. If he had said I'm not sure then Babar may have taken the review.
 
Apparently, Misbah was indicating forearm/arm guard from the dressing room. Rizwan could have been influenced by that.
 
Major said:
Learn? This is Pakistani team captaincy, you dont get to learn here you come prepared.

If he has no experiecne as captain and needs experience than Pakistani captiancy isnt the ideal job for him.

We have been cost 40 runs just because he is not experienced.
Click to expand...

Give him sometime nobody comes into captaincy and makes all the right decisions the best captains are the ones who learn from their mistakes and make adjustments.

It's unfair to criticize babar so early into his stint give him run. it's not like we have Micheal Clarke waiting in line to be the next captain.
 
Babar needs to tighten up on this now

168af63f-61b3-42ca-a71d-e1e12c6860ea.jpg

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 45.283%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/ylv6eg" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
If the captain is not fielding at a position where he has a clear view, he has to take the word of the keeper and bowler.

Considering Babar’s fielding position, it was understandable why he didn’t make the call himself.

This is purely Rizwan’s fault.
 
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