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Babar Azam vs other top batsmen in the early stages of their careers

Rayyman

Test Debutant
Joined
May 5, 2014
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15,182
How does Babar Azam compare to other top batsmen after 17 ODI matches?

Kohli(IND) after 17 matches: 15 innings, 2 not out, 584 runs, High score- 107, Average: 44.92, 738 Balls faced, Strike rate:79.13, 1 hundred, 4 fifties, 65 fours, 4 sixes

Smith(AUS) after 17 matches: 13 innings, 3 not out, 251 runs, High score- 46*, Average: 25.10, Balls faced: 268, Strike rate: 93.65, 0 hundreds, 0 fifties, 20 fours, 3 sixes

Root(ENG) after 17 matches: 16 innings, 3 not out, 593 runs, High score- 79*. Average: 45.61, 701 Balls faced, Strike rate: 84.59, 0 hundreds, 4 fifties, 50 fours, 4 sixes

Williamson(NZ) after 17 matches: 15 innings, 3 not out, 366 runs, High score- 108, Average: 30.50, 532 Balls faced, Strike rate: 68.79, 1 hundred, 0 fifties, 23 fours, 3 sixes

These four batsmen are all considered future ATGs and are 25-27 years old. They are four of the top batsman in the world and they all bat at #3 for their respective teams in the ODI format. With Pakistan ranked lower than all of these teams, they need a certain batsman who they can rely similar to Kohli, Smith, Williamson and Root.

Babar Azam can be that batsman for Pakistan. :babarazam

Azam(Pak) after 17 matches: 17 innings, 1 not out, 769 runs, High score- 123, Average: 48.06, 841 Balls faced, Strike rate: 91.43, 2 hundreds, 5 fifties, 67 fours, 10 sixes

His record is similar if not, better than these batsmen after his first 17 matches. The four batsmen mentioned above, all made their Test match debuts at 20-21 years of age. The next two Test series, are perfect opportunities for Azam to make his Test debut. Babar Azam has the potential to be a cricketing legend, and the best batsman to ever play for Pakistan. Pakistan must do whatever they can to help him get to that spot.
 
There is one key difference between him and Umar:

Umar had/has more raw power than Babar. Although Babar can hit big once set, he can't do it right away like Umar. This limitation has actually made him a more mature player, where he compensates for his lack of power with smart batting and rotation of strike. His shots, especially early on, are always on the ground. No aerial shots.
 
let the hype begins before he fails and turn into another Umar Akmal.

:facepalm
 
let the hype begins before he fails and turn into another Umar Akmal.

:facepalm

i fear the same
just after 17 innings people have started to call him next big thing
may i know what were averages of umar , jamshed, yasir hameed after 17 matches [MENTION=137148]Rayyman[/MENTION]n
 
I believe Nasir Jamsheed, Azhar Ali, Yasir Hameed etc had far better records than Kohli, Smith and Kane in the early part of their career
 
i fear the same
just after 17 innings people have started to call him next big thing
may i know what were averages of umar , jamshed, yasir hameed after 17 matches [MENTION=137148]Rayyman[/MENTION]n

Umar Akmal averaged 39.21 with 1 hundred after 17 games. Couldn't find his S/R, but his S/R after 15 games was 92, so it should be around there.
 
i fear the same
just after 17 innings people have started to call him next big thing
may i know what were averages of umar , jamshed, yasir hameed after 17 matches [MENTION=137148]Rayyman[/MENTION]n

Nasir Jamshed: 37.93 with 1 hundred after 17 matches
Yasir Hameed: 41.76 with 1 hundred after 17 matches
 
He's a very promising batsman for limited overs cricket.

Look at some of shots - just looks sublime.

End of the day there is a saying that the world is your oyster. He has the talent and ability to go very far but he has to stay hungry enough, keep his head and feet down and keep looking to improve his game.
 
I believe Nasir Jamsheed, Azhar Ali, Yasir Hameed etc had far better records than Kohli, Smith and Kane in the early part of their career

Azhar Ali: 47.21 with 1 hundred after 17 matches (feasted on BD and Zim. Didn't score in NZ, where Babar played like a beast)
 
Guys, we were desperately waiting for a class batsman. after yousuf we didn't have any. However, with Babar the search has gotten interesting. All those players( nasir, yasser hamid, etc) had some technical flaws which usually get exposed by the time u reach the 20 - 25 game mark. With Babar, I dont see any technical flaw. He played superbly in england although he couldn't get a big score. He looked like the only solid batsman in Pakistan team that toured England. He played beautifully against the moving ball and hit some sublime cover and square drives. He is one for the future and may Allah protect him from the evil eye and bad company( Akmal brothers). Heard he is their cousin... Hehehe
 
Guys, we were desperately waiting for a class batsman. after yousuf we didn't have any. However, with Babar the search has gotten interesting. All those players( nasir, yasser hamid, etc) had some technical flaws which usually get exposed by the time u reach the 20 - 25 game mark. With Babar, I dont see any technical flaw. He played superbly in england although he couldn't get a big score. He looked like the only solid batsman in Pakistan team that toured England. He played beautifully against the moving ball and hit some sublime cover and square drives. He is one for the future and may Allah protect him from the evil eye and bad company( Akmal brothers). Heard he is their cousin... Hehehe

They do not seem that close. I've never seen Umar and Babar joking around together. Also I've never heard Babar than any of the Akmal brothers for their guidance (during interviews). Also, Umar didn't tweet any congratulations to Babar for his back to back centuries.
 
You are underestimating him. He is surely going to end above the likes of Ponting and Dravid. May be not Bradman , but he may have comparable or better career than SRT, Viv etc. I don't think SRT, VIv etc did so well in their first 15 ODI matches. Certainly not SRT, I have to check for Viv.

Once Viv was owner of the fastest first 1000 run's record.

But, I think, statistically Babar will be superior than many, because he is playing in 300 per era, with lots of soft matches.
 
I found Nasser Jamshed and that guy from Multan who batted like Inzi good too, but both faded away. Babbar looks like someone with a cool head and with hunger for runs. Let's see how he progresses from here.
 
There is one key difference between him and Umar:

Umar had/has more raw power than Babar. Although Babar can hit big once set, he can't do it right away like Umar. This limitation has actually made him a more mature player, where he compensates for his lack of power with smart batting and rotation of strike. His shots, especially early on, are always on the ground. No aerial shots.

I guess playing in domestic for a while has made him a better batsman but on the other hand umar and Shehzad were inducted in the team way too early so they haven't had the time to mature and got recognition way too early that has ruined them but Babar again has been playing serious cricket from his early teenage days now that he's 22 he's matured a lot and has some sense of responsibility which akmal and Shehzad both lack!
 
I found Nasser Jamshed and that guy from Multan who batted like Inzi good too, but both faded away. Babbar looks like someone with a cool head and with hunger for runs. Let's see how he progresses from here.

Maqsood... God I can't stand the guy now.

Total hack and looks disinterested in the field.
 
Pakistani youngsters always have good starts but they dont kick on and hit a brick wall. So i dont think we should get ahead of ourselves.
 
Yar first 17 matches don't decide whether you will be an ATG or not. Its not like Sachin, Ponting or Inzi reached their first 1000 in 20-25 matches but look what they achieved later on.

Even Yaser hameed was the bomb in his first 30 matches & broke the fastest to 1000 record when we were kids. But what did he do later on? So dont read too much into these stats.
 
Yar first 17 matches don't decide whether you will be an ATG or not. Its not like Sachin, Ponting or Inzi reached their first 1000 in 20-25 matches but look what they achieved later on.

Even Yaser hameed was the bomb in his first 30 matches & broke the fastest to 1000 record when we were kids. But what did he do later on? So dont read too much into these stats.

That's why I put Steve Smith's stats there. To show that even if Babar fails for a series or two, he shouldn't be forgotten because he has a lot of potential.
 
Wonderful start to his career, is so good to watch on the backfoot. Pakistan should not rush him to the test side though. Let him get more experience in LOIs, give him 12-18 months, more A tours etc before introducing him in Tests.

Mickey Arthur's responsibility to ensure he matures well over the next 2-3 years.
 
We are acting how Indians were acting after Bumrah first came to the scene.

Babar is a good bat and a main stay in the side. It would have been lovely if we had Haris Sohail to partner him. In that case we would have surely shot up the rankings in no time.
 
Viv Richards, SRT, Dravid lol. I can't believe you guys sometimes. I say Babar is probably the best Pakistani find in over a decade and I am excited for his future, but you guys just don't know where to stop, do you?
 
You probably weren't around back then, but 2 years back some poor chap started an Umar Akmal vs other bats at the same stage thread... you can imagine how that turned out.

Babar is a humble guy, no need to raise him to skies already and then powerbomb him back to the canvas that is Pak domestics hellhole ala Randy Orton ouster from Evolution. [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION]
 
That's why I put Steve Smith's stats there. To show that even if Babar fails for a series or two, he shouldn't be forgotten because he has a lot of potential.

Having Potential doesn't mean we start comparing him with ATG's. To be frank, I have started hating this word recently after so many wasted talents who are defended because in the eyes of the fans they had "potential".

He should develop himself, be consistent & then say after 5 years we shall comment on whether he is on the track to being ATG.

Just like now we talk about Kohli. He was perhaps the most gifted youngster at that time. But we call him ATG after his consistency over 6 years, not when he got his first ton.
 
Viv Richards, SRT, Dravid lol. I can't believe you guys sometimes. I say Babar is probably the best Pakistani find in over a decade and I am excited for his future, but you guys just don't know where to stop, do you?

Who said in this thread that he will surpass Viv and Tendulkar? (Barring the sarcastic comment)
 
We all said the same thing about umar akmal and we all know what happend to that. Pakistani batsmen are talented but not disciplined. Umar akmal came in with a bang too and he appeared to more talented.
 
too early... needs to do tht for over a year in different conditions and also need to perform at test level, where there is real test. thts y i rate kholi no 7-8 in current batsmen list bcz he has failed in test cricket ( and by fail i mean he hasnt been able to perform at levels he has done in LOI) ... so lets see if babar azam can perform at all levels, prayers and best wishes for him
 
I doubt it. But he can equal greats like Ponting and Dravid. That would be enough for Pakistan.

Agree with Dravid who was never an impact ODI batsman. Long long long way to even touch Ponting's status and it is a blasphemy to even say that until Babar plays 100 ODIs and maintains this performance.
 
The difference between him and Umar Akmal/Hameed/Jamshed is clear.

Babar Azam was touted to be a great batsman since 14-15 years of age. None of those others guys were. They were more "wow where did they come from?" type of batsmen and those rarely kick on.

Azam is following a straight path with no ups or downs. It's been like this his entire life.

Does that mean he'll be as good as Kohli/Root/Williamson/Smith? No, but it means he has the potential to actually have a chance.
 
Brilliant. Superstar.

Have been monitoring his progress since he was 16 and he's rarely disappointed.

10k+ runs in ODIs, and maybe even the same in Tests, Insha'Allah.

Keep it up, Babs.
 
This guy is no hack and has played lot of cricket at all levels. I have been waiting for years for him to play for Pakistan. If we have Mickey for two years, Babar will turn into other Ponting. He just needs proper guidance to handle pressure. He should watch videos of Kolhi and Ponting. Sarfraz will be a good captain for him , just Dhoni was for Kohli.

He should bat at no 6 in tests where Ponting started and later move to number 3.

I also expect a lot from Sami Aslam.

Hopefully these two fulfill their potentials.
 
What makes him stand out is his high SR without having to resort to slogging.

At 21 and a back to back centurion batting at no.3 with a SR above 90.

This boy will become world class.
 
He's actually got a higher ceiling than Kane, Root or Smith in ODIs and Kohli in tests. Put him and de Kock right up there with the other four as the best young batsmen in the world.
 
I doubt it. But he can equal greats like Ponting and Dravid. That would be enough for Pakistan.

Like Ponting and Dravid ? Even that is a bit too much to wish far, they were all time greats , but I agree, if you wish, wish for big.
 
I believe Nasir Jamsheed, Azhar Ali, Yasir Hameed etc had far better records than Kohli, Smith and Kane in the early part of their career

Agree and keeping that in mind we have to be a bit careful in making predictions. But, Jamshed and Hameed lacked intelligence and Azhar is not as gifted. Babar is smart and gifted, talent wise. That give us the hope he will be better than them.
 
Like Ponting and Dravid ? Even that is a bit too much to wish far, they were all time greats , but I agree, if you wish, wish for big.

Dravid was no better than Younis Khan in ODIs. Babar might already be a better LOI batsman than both.
 
Dravid was no better than Younis Khan in ODIs. Babar might already be a better LOI batsman than both.

So you think a batman who has played 17 matches is already better than someone who has scored more than 10000 odi runs?? Lol!!!!!
 
So you think a batman who has played 17 matches is already better than someone who has scored more than 10000 odi runs?? Lol!!!!!

Ability-wise, yes. However, my point was that Babar should be aiming way higher than Younis and Dravid.
 
So, I guess the comparison with just Kohli is not enough....doubling down to include every leading batsman as comparison.
 
So, I guess the comparison with just Kohli is not enough....doubling down to include every leading batsman as comparison.

Well, if you are going to do something then do it really well ;)
 
After 23 matches:

Kohli: 947 runs, 4 not out, high score 107, sr 83, 2 100, 7 fifties, 1 duck, average 50

Smith: 399 runs, 4 not out, high score 46*, sr 88, 0 100, 0 fifties, 2 ducks, average 21

Williamson: 657 runs, 4 not out, high score 108, sr 74, 2 100, 1 fifty, 3 ducks, average 35

Root: 723 runs, 3 not out, high score 79*, sr 78, 0 100, 5 fifties, 1 duck, average 36

Azam: 1168 runs, 1 not out, high score 123, sr 91, 4 100, 6 fifties, 0 ducks, average 53
 
Who cares if he ever becomes as good as Tendulkar ? I will be happy if Pak can find 3-4 decent OD batter, rather than having just 1 great player.
Azam has made a good start, lets hope he continue the good work and doesn't fade away like Umar Akmal.
 
Babar has ODI average of 53 even after tours of England, New Zealand and Australia. He is a world class batter already and will be finished article in 4 years.

His strokeplay is natural, great fitness. We are witnessing the emergence of one of the best batsmen in the world. We have finally found our no.3.
 
Though he has had the opportunity to bat in the top-order which the Fab 4 didn't have, it is safe to say that he is better than they were at this stage of their careers.
 
Babar has ODI average of 53 even after tours of England, New Zealand and Australia. He is a world class batter already and will be finished article in 4 years.

His strokeplay is natural, great fitness. We are witnessing the emergence of one of the best batsmen in the world. We have finally found our no.3.

Don't hype him that much, its still too early to make such tall claims.He still need to continue the hard work as pak can't afford to loose another highly talented youngster for some stupid reason:asif
 
Damn Smith was really floundering at that stage of his career. Kudos to the Aussie selectors to keep persisting with him.
 
Damn Smith was really floundering at that stage of his career. Kudos to the Aussie selectors to keep persisting with him.
Smith started off bating at 7-9.

The kudos should be given to Smith himself, he has worked incredibly hard on his game and is reaping the rewards now.
 
Smith started off bating at 7-9.

The kudos should be given to Smith himself, he has worked incredibly hard on his game and is reaping the rewards now.

Believe it or not, Smith has been one of my favorite players ever since he debuted. I first started to like him during the '11 WC.
 
Was making similar comparisons yesterday in my free time. :))

Good thread.

Babar is class and even when he reaches 2k runs, I feel he'll be ahead of the rest comparatively.

Let's hope he keeps it up.
 
Early stage does not matter. How you develop after that is the most important unless you are freak talent to begin with.
 
This tells nothing. Didn't Shahzad actually has better stats than Tendulkar at same stage early in his career :)):ahmed:razzaq
 
No he can't be next Ahmad Shehzad. He as very different nature as compared to him. He is calm and don't talk much on the field. He also maintains his temper while celebration after scoring tons. Seems to be a humble and introvert person on the field. More like Guptill, Narine, Samuels.
 
Let's hope he keeps doing his work quietly without being affected by the hype created by us and media.
 
He looks a bit uncomfortable when he is starting his innings. Much more than Guys like kohli, root, smith. Looks quite vulnerable at that time. But Once he is set, he is very hard to get out.
 
He looks a bit uncomfortable when he is starting his innings. Much more than Guys like kohli, root, smith. Looks quite vulnerable at that time. But Once he is set, he is very hard to get out.

So was Kohli at that age. Just look at 2011 WC Final and Semi-Final as an example.
 
I would be disappointed if he does not get to 10 K runs in OD with at least 30 Hundreds.

He should be able to convert at least every 4 - 5 innings into hundred.
 
Kohli was merely a good batsman in ODIs in the initial part of his career. However that knock at Hobart against Sri Lanka was the landmark and turning point in his ODI career when he truly became a beast in ODIs and his stroke play went up to the next level.

Before that Hobart knock in 2012, he averaged 45 at a SR of 83.

After that, he has averaged 60 at a SR of 96 for over 100 matches till date.

Above all the stats, he became a truly dominating batsman and became "the" prized wicket after that knock.
 
Kohli was merely a good batsman in ODIs in the initial part of his career. However that knock at Hobart against Sri Lanka was the landmark and turning point in his ODI career when he truly became a beast in ODIs and his stroke play went up to the next level.

Before that Hobart knock in 2012, he averaged 45 at a SR of 83.

After that, he has averaged 60 at a SR of 96 for over 100 matches till date.

Above all the stats, he became a truly dominating batsman and became "the" prized wicket after that knock.

I remember that game - insane innings it was by him and to chase 321 in 50 overs is a tough ask let alone 40 overs!

Truly one of the greatest run chases ever.
 
I remember that game - insane innings it was by him and to chase 321 in 50 overs is a tough ask let alone 40 overs!

Truly one of the greatest run chases ever.

And he did that in 36 overs with 4 overs to spare!:kohli
 
And he did that in 36 overs with 4 overs to spare!:kohli

I remember making fun of a friend who said that the game wasnt over after the first innings. He gave it back 10 times when India chased that down later in 36 overs.
 
After 23 matches:

Kohli: 947 runs, 4 not out, high score 107, sr 83, 2 100, 7 fifties, 1 duck, average 50

Smith: 399 runs, 4 not out, high score 46*, sr 88, 0 100, 0 fifties, 2 ducks, average 21

Williamson: 657 runs, 4 not out, high score 108, sr 74, 2 100, 1 fifty, 3 ducks, average 35

Root: 723 runs, 3 not out, high score 79*, sr 78, 0 100, 5 fifties, 1 duck, average 36

Azam: 1168 runs, 1 not out, high score 123, sr 91, 4 100, 6 fifties, 0 ducks, average 53

ignore Smiths stats as he was crap when he started, like afridi, neither bowler nor batsmen but after going back to domestic he just transformed like, well, transformers and became a beast.

it will be interesting to see how babar azam takes on from here... we have had good starters in the past in odi but losing their way so hopefully insh Allah Babar Azam will take the route of a root/williamson/kholi to get to the performance level they r putting now...
 
Inzi had a poor start to his test career. Think he had 1 fifty on the 5 test tour to England. Saeed anwar also started poorly.
 
After 23 matches:

Kohli: 947 runs, 4 not out, high score 107, sr 83, 2 100, 7 fifties, 1 duck, average 50

Smith: 399 runs, 4 not out, high score 46*, sr 88, 0 100, 0 fifties, 2 ducks, average 21

Williamson: 657 runs, 4 not out, high score 108, sr 74, 2 100, 1 fifty, 3 ducks, average 35

Root: 723 runs, 3 not out, high score 79*, sr 78, 0 100, 5 fifties, 1 duck, average 36

Azam: 1168 runs, 1 not out, high score 123, sr 91, 4 100, 6 fifties, 0 ducks, average 53

Hope Babar gets 10 centuries or more by the time he's played 50 matches, and maintains that 50 average and 90 SR. Then, we can comfortably place him alongside those four world class batsmen.

Needs a better showing in test matches.
 
After 26 matches:

Kohli: 947 runs, 4 not out, high score 107, sr 83, 2 100, 7 fifties, 1 duck, average 50

Smith: 299 runs, 4 not out, high score 46*, sr 91, 0 100, 0 fifties, 2 ducks, average 23

Williamson: 715 runs, 4 not out, high score 108, sr 75, 2 100, 2 fifties, 3 ducks, average 36

Root: 853 runs, 3 not out, high score 107, sr 78, 1 100, 5 fifties, 1 duck, average 39

Azam: 1322 runs, 2 not out, high score 125*, sr 90, 5 100, 6 fifties, 0 ducks, average 55
 
After 31 innings:

Kohli: 1127 runs, 4 not out, high score 107, sr 80, 2 100, 8 fifties, 2 ducks, average 42

Smith: 677 runs, 4 not out, high score 101, sr 84, 1 100, 1 fifty, 2 ducks, average 25

Williamson: 972 runs, 5 not out, high score 145*, sr 78, 3 100, 3 fifties, 3 ducks, average 37

Root: 972 runs, 3 not out, high score 107, sr 79, 1 100, 5 fifties, 2 ducks, average 35

Azam: 1455 runs, 4 not out, high score 125*, sr 89, 5 100, 6 fifties, 0 ducks, average 54
 
After just as many innings, VK had 2 Centuries, Babar Azam has 7. VK had two ducks, Babar Azam has 0. VK had a lower average, a lower strike rate, fewer runs and fewer sixes.

Babar has a VERY long way to go before he can even even dream of becoming a player as good as Kohli HOWEVER, to all the naysayers, to all the people who criticize Babar like no tomorrow, to everyone who judges him for every single minute detail and to the people who says he plays too slow, the best ODI batsman of the last 2 decades had FAAAR inferior stats at the same point in his career as Babar and even they were not bad. This shows how good Babar is.

My aim behind this post is not to label Babar Azam as the next VK or even compare them, just saying that people need to be less critical of Azam.
 
After just as many innings, VK had 2 Centuries, Babar Azam has 7. VK had two ducks, Babar Azam has 0. VK had a lower average, a lower strike rate, fewer runs and fewer sixes.

Babar has a VERY long way to go before he can even even dream of becoming a player as good as Kohli HOWEVER, to all the naysayers, to all the people who criticize Babar like no tomorrow, to everyone who judges him for every single minute detail and to the people who says he plays too slow, the best ODI batsman of the last 2 decades had FAAAR inferior stats at the same point in his career as Babar and even they were not bad. This shows how good Babar is.

My aim behind this post is not to label Babar Azam as the next VK or even compare them, just saying that people need to be less critical of Azam.
I would agree with this if Pakistan did not have a long history of promising talent going down the drain.

Umar Akmal was ahead of many ATG batsmen when he started, Nasir Jamshed was on a roll against India, Yasir Hameed was pretty good, I am certain there are more.

The difference is that Pakistan has a lazy cricketing culture, our cricketers rarely improve their game, on top of that the management cannot for their life handle these players like the Indian or Australian cricket board can.

kohli kept on improving his game, focused dearly on his fitness and became a beast, I have never seen any of our cricketers focus on their fitness like that and improve every aspect of their game, maybe Azhar Ali but that is test cricket.

Babar does have hunger to do better, but looking at our history, and the fact that none of us know Babars work ethics we cannot say for certain if he will reach that high level.
 
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