Babar Azam's defensive mindset will be his undoing as Test captain

[Xoib]

A lot.of people blaming Ramiz, Saqlain ,Azhar ali etc but it's skipper that sets the tone and througout this series his first intention has been to get a draw whether it's coming from Coach or chairman or someone else but it's the skipper who executes it on the pitch and Babar had proved to be a really negative skipper and have not shown any initiative to get a win.

A big question mark on his future as captain.

 

[Markhor]

Agreed. Turning out to be another Azhar Ali in terms of captaincy. Very disappointed with this safety first mindset.

 

[dravidthewall]

Babar is good batsman ,but he is not aggressive and killer instinct to go for win.Pakistan should look for saheen for captaincy role.

 

[Kianig89]

For captain to succeed must have a core of great players which give him luxury and dependability what exactly Babar has a dud Azhar who still plays for his place after 94 Tests a couple of raw fast bowlers a pair of street level spinners and some fake all rounders like Fawad Hassan Faheem.

All great teams are built on combined performances Pakistan atm look like Zimbabwe of late 2000s

 

[sweep_shot]

He is quite soft/introverted for leadership position.

Pakistan need an aggressive and charismatic captain.

 

[MenInG]

He is doing the best he can. Question is more for people who made him captain.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Babars captaincy reminds of when inzi was captain. He does a job with the bat, but in the field captaincy is negative and reactive rather proactive. Also doesnt seem to have the balls to drop certain players from the team.

 

[ElRaja]

A lot.of people blaming Ramiz, Saqlain ,Azhar ali etc but it's skipper that sets the tone and througout this series his first intention has been to get a draw whether it's coming from Coach or chairman or someone else but it's the skipper who executes it on the pitch and Babar had proved to be a really negative skipper and have not shown any initiative to get a win.

A big question mark on his future as captain.

maybe hes defensive because he knows the team lacks quality. no amount of aggressive captaincy will make sajid or nauman into world beaters, or get azhar to bat faster.

hes underwhelmed as captain, but amongst the list of pakistans problems hes not the most pressing.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

He is quite soft/introverted for leadership position.

Pakistan need an aggressive and charismatic captain.

Williamson is reserved too but you see it in his captaincy how aggressive he is and he's carried forward the team McCullum built to next level. Babar didn't have luxury of inheriting a settled team tbf.

But yes he does seem a bit timid. IMO he has cricketing brain because if he didn't he wouldn't be a good batsman. He just doesn't seem a natural leader, so you need a good coach who can guide him. Give him plans. Someone like a Ponting or Langer, who can just change the thinking because I don't think problem is dearth of talent, rather just poor execution of plans.

 

[Sarwar89]

Babar Azam needs to be an Aggressive minded captain like Mushtaq Muhammad.

It has been a significant period of time since we had an attacking minded aggressive Test captain like Mushtaq Muhammad in our Test team.
It was under Mushtaq Muhammad, Pakistan gave a new blue print of Test cricket to the world, notable example is Karachi Test in 1978, when we were already winning series 1-0 and needed 170 odd in 26 overs to make it 2-0. Had it been Babar’s current team, they would have settled for 1-0 not 2-0. Bedi and his team were taken by surprise. On dead pitch he once asked his team to score 500+ in 100 overs against Kiwiz ( to save time to take 20 wickets) his team scored 550+ In 100 odd overs. No wonder he did so well in Australian tours and it was his groomed team which could have even 1979 cricket world cup under Asif Iqbal. Babar is not making any impression as an attack minded captain. Today his team played 117 overs. With RR of 3, Pakistan would have scored 350 easily. RR of 3 is not that difficult.
Currently it appears even if Player is scoring 50-60 runs with strike rate of 30-40, Babar is ok with it. I am not too sure if this is the right approach. Babar is not even trying to shuffle or change batting order which brilliant captains generally do in need of the hour. It is not about this test series, Babar is young and will remain test captain for many years, if he is fine with ultra defensive approach then Pakistan as Test team will never be dominant at home. Cricket has moved on but we are stuck in 60’s era cricket.

No
Wonder we only won 2 test matches in entire 1960’s and lost badly at home against Aus 60 Eng 61 Nzl 69.
Innovative shrewd captaincy are not easy traits, Babar may not have them but he can learn them.

 

[Kaka4pope]

Taking the new ball towards the end of day 1 looks a poor decision - the old ball, both now and historically, creates problems in Pak and Babar/think tank decided to introduce a shiny new one…

 

[Sarwar89]

Taking the new ball towards the end of day 1 looks a poor decision - the old ball, both now and historically, creates problems in Pak and Babar/think tank decided to introduce a shiny new one…

That is just one part of the story. Still Aussies would have scored 330 not 390. But how that has impacted with their slow Runrate is baffling. All they had to do was to bat at 2.80 rr and our score would have been 330 instead of 268. And Aussies had to bat entire day 4 and bit of day 5.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

That's like asking Faheem Ashraf to be more like Imran Khan. Its a truism and it doesn't mean much of anything.

 

[Bewal Express]

Its early days for Babar but some of his selections are brain dead. Did he not see the tail starting at 7, when we as lay people could see it. Babar needs to show that he is aggressive and astute. Lets hope he learns from his mistakes

 

[Markhor]

Mushtaq was a shrewd cricket mind and the captain who arguably moved Pakistan away from the timid, safety first mentality of his predecessors. It's a shame we never utilised him more in various capacities and kept recycling likes of Intikhab, Miandad, Qasim and Rasheed.

He's one of the few Pakistani captains to take the fight to Australia - whereas it seems every generation of Pakistani cricketer from the 1990s onwards is terrified of the sight of an Australian cricketer.

Our management has too many mental scars of playing the Aussies from Ramiz, Saqlain, Yousuf and now Babar.

The fear factor is evident from the ordering of dull surfaces, defensive tactics and painfully negative batting. To score 250 after 110 overs is inexcusable. I understood why we grinded on slow UAE pitches, but there's no excuse playing like this on home soil.

 

[Sarwar89]

Mushtaq was a shrewd cricket mind and the captain who arguably moved Pakistan away from the timid, safety first mentality of his predecessors. It's a shame we never utilised him more in various capacities and kept recycling likes of Intikhab, Miandad, Qasim and Rasheed.

He's one of the few Pakistani captains to take the fight to Australia - whereas it seems every generation of Pakistani cricketer from the 1990s onwards is terrified of the sight of an Australian cricketer.

Our management has too many mental scars of playing the Aussies from Ramiz, Saqlain, Yousuf and now Babar.

The fear factor is evident from the ordering of dull surfaces, defensive tactics and painfully negative batting. To score 250 after 110 overs is inexcusable. I understood why we grinded on slow UAE pitches, but there's no excuse playing like this on home soil.

1 world class spinner can change the tide of whole series. Unknown Harbhajhan singh absolutely thumped Aussies to the ground in epic 2001 series. That series perhaps changed the course of their cricket history for 2 generations. And in Asia if there is one team who are not scared of Aussies, they are Indians. Every single team is beatable, even Bradman lost home Test series (bodyline) clive lloyd, Sobers also suffered home series defeat but they never displayed fear.
I see this team, there are people who are worried about future, place in team, pension, Fawad, Azhar, Noman are at the wrong side of 30’s. Sajid was selected based on performance against Bangladesh. Imam was not selected on merit. There is no invincible team in the world. 83 final is living proof of that. It all depends how you see your opponent. Our team has way too much respect for Aussies. A team beaten twice at home v India recently and lost 3 straight home test series v South Africa.

 

[MenInG]

Babar Azam argues with umpire when Fawad is out, accepts Riz not taking a review and see this

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Babar at post match Presentation:


Pretty good series overall.
Fought hard in Pindi.
Saved the match in Karachi.
Here, we had two bad sessions. Our plan was to play normal cricket.
Thought we would go for the chase if momentum was on our side.

Want to thank Australia for coming here.

 

[Savak]

Kohli identified the perfect formula for India's dominance at home. Spinning minefields, great new ball bowling by the pacers and reverse swing with the new ball. He has even lost a test match at home vs Australia and England but he not once drifted from his strategy. That is called being fearless and having immense self belief in your team.

The captain in Cricket is everything. Babar is a just not a natural leader and it is clear no matter how much time you give him with the ball, he is forever going to be timid. Need to give the job to someone with a real hunger to win.

 

[Thanos]

Kohli identified the perfect formula for India's dominance at home. Spinning minefields, great new ball bowling by the pacers and reverse swing with the new ball. He has even lost a test match at home vs Australia and England but he not once drifted from his strategy. That is called being fearless and having immense self belief in your team.

The captain in Cricket is everything. Babar is a just not a natural leader and it is clear no matter how much time you give him with the ball, he is forever going to be timid. Need to give the job to someone with a real hunger to win.

Even Bangladesh and Sri Lanka believe and prepare turning pitches against SENA teams when their players are not among the best in world.
Pakistan didn't even try in one match of the series.

 

[adil79]

Babar Azam is a selfish player. If you can accept that all of his decisions, team selection and batting will make sense.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Even Bangladesh and Sri Lanka believe and prepare turning pitches against SENA teams when their players are not among the best in world.
Pakistan didn't even try in one match of the series.

Spin Track..Bouncy...Green Mat..Balanced Pitch..Flat Track..whatever you prepare...... Pakistan can't win against Aus.


Aus pace attach stronger than Pak.
Lyon is superiors spinner than Pak spinners.
Aus batsman better than Pak batters.


They don't have quality spinners like Aswin-Axar-Jaddu Trio at home
They don't have player like Pant who can take risk to win the matches.

 

[Markhor]

Azhar Ali V2.0.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

maybe hes defensive because he knows the team lacks quality. no amount of aggressive captaincy will make sajid or nauman into world beaters, or get azhar to bat faster.

hes underwhelmed as captain, but amongst the list of pakistans problems hes not the most pressing.

Sajid, nauman, Fawad alam

What are his other options.

Zahid , Saud Shakeel atleast couldve made two changes instead of sticking with them..

 

[ask_analyse_act]

It has been a significant period of time since we had an attacking minded aggressive Test captain like Mushtaq Muhammad in our Test team.
It was under Mushtaq Muhammad, Pakistan gave a new blue print of Test cricket to the world, notable example is Karachi Test in 1978, when we were already winning series 1-0 and needed 170 odd in 26 overs to make it 2-0. Had it been Babar’s current team, they would have settled for 1-0 not 2-0. Bedi and his team were taken by surprise. On dead pitch he once asked his team to score 500+ in 100 overs against Kiwiz ( to save time to take 20 wickets) his team scored 550+ In 100 odd overs. No wonder he did so well in Australian tours and it was his groomed team which could have even 1979 cricket world cup under Asif Iqbal. Babar is not making any impression as an attack minded captain. Today his team played 117 overs. With RR of 3, Pakistan would have scored 350 easily. RR of 3 is not that difficult.
Currently it appears even if Player is scoring 50-60 runs with strike rate of 30-40, Babar is ok with it. I am not too sure if this is the right approach. Babar is not even trying to shuffle or change batting order which brilliant captains generally do in need of the hour. It is not about this test series, Babar is young and will remain test captain for many years, if he is fine with ultra defensive approach then Pakistan as Test team will never be dominant at home. Cricket has moved on but we are stuck in 60’s era cricket.

No
Wonder we only won 2 test matches in entire 1960’s and lost badly at home against Aus 60 Eng 61 Nzl 69.
Innovative shrewd captaincy are not easy traits, Babar may not have them but he can learn them.

In 60s and 80s era Pakistan played better cricket, with an attacking mindset..

Harsh to compare these kittens with those legends and say they are stuck in 60s era.. This era is on their own.

 

[Clueless]

In 60s and 80s era Pakistan played better cricket, with an attacking mindset..

Harsh to compare these kittens with those legends and say they are stuck in 60s era.. This era is on their own.

Sports like Cricket had not matured till 80s, while the world of sports moved to more and more professional approach. Pakistan is still stuck searching for once in a while "Jazba" approach.

 

[Sarwar89]

Sports like Cricket had not matured till 80s, while the world of sports moved to more and more professional approach. Pakistan is still stuck searching for once in a while "Jazba" approach.

They have destroyed their hockey in which they were most successful for the sake of cricket.
Population of 230 million people reduced to 1 sport only and getting battered at home for 12th time in 27 years is not good showing.
I do not know which jazba is there. A world cup won 30 years ago should be thing of the past. Corporate world only sees results. Aussies came like a corporate delegation, got full protocol and left the shores with agreements mostly in their favor. They dictated terms to a timid team at their own backyard. 25th March 2022 should not be forgotten.

 

[shamaan]

Babar Azam argues with umpire when Fawad is out, accepts Riz not taking a review and see this

View attachment 115436

View attachment 115437

He should have reviwed it even if Rizwan didn't want to.

 

[shamaan]

No Babar you didn't dominate this series you got outplayed in every department.

 

[Savak]

Persisting with misfits as captains is a waste of time. The PCB should realize where someone is a misfit early on and give the job to someone more capable

 

[JibranAnsari]

He doesnt test his limits as a batsman , he is a fellow who just loves being in his comfort zone.

 

[moghul]

A lot.of people blaming Ramiz, Saqlain ,Azhar ali etc but it's skipper that sets the tone and througout this series his first intention has been to get a draw whether it's coming from Coach or chairman or someone else but it's the skipper who executes it on the pitch and Babar had proved to be a really negative skipper and have not shown any initiative to get a win.

A big question mark on his future as captain.

Misbah was his mentor, what else you expect. A great batsman in making but not a leader, should not be the captain at any level.

 

[Kianig89]

Not much Babar was able to do he had didn't had the luxury of quality batters and experienced bowlers our spin department was non existent and out of form Hasan ali made it very difficult for him

 

[Afzal_K]

What you prepare a pitch, on what basis do you do it? on your strength eight. India creates this spin friendly, they win - and they get ya DEMERIT points, does what effect 3-0, 2-1? NO

Pakistan's strength is bowling, to tum bowing pitch banao? why go for extremely flat wickets. Borefest of batting and in the final battle, you are taken

 

[ask_analyse_act]

For every series loss , change in captaincy is not the solution..

Half of the team is decent enough where the remaining half is not upto intl level. Cannot go win a test match against Aussies with poor quality players like Sajid, Nauman , Fawad + the experienced test batsman is Azhar Ali + Hasan Ali carrying a niggle and completely out of form ever since T20 WC..

Imho Babar and Shaheen looks to be the only players who looks to be firstname in the sheet. Shafique looks promising, but also dont like his timid approach to bat slowly... Rizwan had a poor series with the bat except Karachi 100

Solutions to look for should be change in approach, meritorious selection, strengthen coaching staff where they performed poorly (which was spin bowling and fielding),

Would like to see Babar's captaincy under Andy Flower as head coach..
this will turn lot of things right..

Vettori is coming in as spin bowling consultant for LOI leg for Australia, PCB should try rope him in for head coach prob.. I dont think Aus would go for a NZL as head coach when they so many on their own backyard..