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Babar Azam's problem with power hitting

General perception in T20:

Babar = Rizwan
Sharjeel > Shan
Clarke > Maqsood
Farhan/Cockbain < Rossow
Nabi < David
Gregory/Qasim = Khushdil
Imad > Anwar/Willey
Yamin/Thompson = Abbas Afridi
Umaid < Dahani
Shinwari/Taha/Mir Hamza < Imran Tahir
Jordan > Muzarabani/IK

When we look at the names and team sheets, the teams are almost balanced but why are they at the other ends of points table?

I think the answer is Rizwan. When he stays at crease and plays long, the team mostly wins. Shan has improved drastically under his leadership. Khushdil has emerged as a proper all-rounder under him. Previously, Dahani and Maqsood were doing good under him. One captain knows how to take performances from his team, the other hides his emerging players (Farhan, Taha, Qasim in bowling).


those 3 in t20 need too sign / play in england, to see how good they are
 
Babar is too good a batsman to not take his game another notch in T20s. Waiting for him to add "acceptable risks" to his game to up the scoring rate at the top of the innings.
 
Babar hurting in PSL 7

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36 from 34 balls today, scratched around prior to his dismissal.

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Overall record in PSL 7:

343 runs in 10 innings at an average of 38.11 and a strike-rate of 118.68
 
36 from 34 balls today, scratched around prior to his dismissal.

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Overall record in PSL 7:

343 runs in 10 innings at an average of 38.11 and a strike-rate of 118.68

Best T20 opener in the world
 
Babar has a poor lineup of players following him. They are all built to scratch around and score some runs, but can't score under pressure.

Yet Babar never changed his game to take a few risks. Always the conservative option.

For national team, he is blessed there are good hitters followin him. But on slow surfaces, he may consistently leave them too many to get in too short a time.
 
Babar has a poor lineup of players following him. They are all built to scratch around and score some runs, but can't score under pressure.

Yet Babar never changed his game to take a few risks. Always the conservative option.

For national team, he is blessed there are good hitters followin him. But on slow surfaces, he may consistently leave them too many to get in too short a time.

Thank you Misbah Ul Haq for giving us the best captain in Pakistan!
 
Hes not had the greatest of tourneys but im sure he ll have a good hard look at himself and come bsck stronger and better

Babar has been the best thing thats happened to pakistan cricket in 20 years I wouldnt change him for the world
 
Hes not had the greatest of tourneys but im sure he ll have a good hard look at himself and come bsck stronger and better

Babar has been the best thing thats happened to pakistan cricket in 20 years I wouldnt change him for the world

He will do nothing. He will not change.

According to Babar, he isn’t the problem, the others are the problem.
 
101 strike rate in powerplay? The teams should make plans to ensure they DONT get him out.
 
Someone on twitter did a photo analysis where it showed that he had changed his grip this tournament ie more bottom hand than usual this tournament and was trying to hit the ball too hard instead of focusing on timing.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A mixed bag for Babar Azam in PSL7:<br><br>343 runs is ok<br>Average of 38.11 is pretty good<br>But a disappointing strike-rate of 118.68<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PSL7?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PSL7</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/QbCP3bczam">pic.twitter.com/QbCP3bczam</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1495373010513113093?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
We need Babar. He is the best we have in ALL formats and anyone criticizing his spot in the T20 squad is not understanding cricket. However, his leadership skills are VERY VERY questionable. He sounds timid which will have a negative effect on his batting.

I am hoping that he withdraws from captaincy which will enable him to play without any pressure of losing. If he is adamant to open, admin needs to assure his spot in the squad and give him a free hand to score. I am sure with his skill level, he can average 30ish with 175 SR. The caveat is that if he goes down early, we may see a domino effect down the order. That is the reason I would like to see him at number 4.
 
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We need Babar. He is the best we have in ALL formats and anyone criticizing his spot in the T20 squad is not understanding cricket. However, his leadership skills are VERY VERY questionable. He sounds timid which will have a negative effect on his batting.

I am hoping that he withdraws from captaincy which will enable him to play without any pressure of losing. If he is adamant to open, admin needs to assure his spot in the squad and give him a free hand to score. I am sure with his skill level, he can average 30ish with 175 SR. The caveat is that if he goes down early, we may see a domino effect down the order. That is the reason I would like to see him at number 4.

In Pakistan once you become captain, you no longer need to perform with bat/ball since your position in the team is secured (can’t drop a captain).

Knowing this, Babar will not resign as captain because then the chances of him being replaced by another batsman will increase if Babar continues to fail.
 
In Pakistan once you become captain, you no longer need to perform with bat/ball since your position in the team is secured (can’t drop a captain).

Knowing this, Babar will not resign as captain because then the chances of him being replaced by another batsman will increase if Babar continues to fail.

I highly doubt that he will fail for too long. He is very gifted. Yes, while he is captain, he will have this added pressure to perform at higher SR as an opener which may in turn effect his batting. I understand what you are stating that in Pak, once someone is captain, it becomes a matter of ego to withdraw from this position. I don't know if he is wise enough to take it as a positive.
 
Though he's been no. 1 rank batsman but the fact is t20 is not his ideal format. It should be tests and Odis.

But he is needed in next t20 WC, which is in Australia where Shoaib Malik and Khushdil Shah type batsmen may not work.

I think Ramiz Raja should just tell him that next t20 WC will be his last as captain. After that he can play as player till 2025 WC if he performs but after that he should simply retire from international t20 altogether and should concentrate on test and ODi only. He can continue playing league cricket for good paycheck.

He should focus more on becoming a 50 averaging batsman in test cricket than becoming a no1 t20 player.
 
Babar is world class he will continue scoring runs at a good rate in international cricket.
 
looks like boys are taking golf for power hitting suggestions seriously

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A productive day out playing Golf⛳️ &#55357;&#56490;&#55356;&#57340; <a href="https://t.co/yc42KPQTsb">pic.twitter.com/yc42KPQTsb</a></p>— Imam Ul Haq (@ImamUlHaq12) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImamUlHaq12/status/1516828851925573633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Imam looks a little on the podgy side. babar too skinny. Our players need to get in the weight room to improve their power hitting.
 
Since 2017
Most times Scoring 90+ Scores in ODI With Less than 80 SR

4 times - Babar Azam*
3 times - Shai Hope
2 times - Kane Williamson
2 times - Kyle Coetzer
 
Since 2017
Most times Scoring 90+ Scores in ODI With Less than 80 SR

4 times - Babar Azam*
3 times - Shai Hope
2 times - Kane Williamson
2 times - Kyle Coetzer

Who comes up with these analysis man! Less than 80 SR and also 90+ scores :))
 
ok so some say Babar has a problem with power-hitting.

I say the other Pakistani batters have a problem with hitting the ball full stop.
 
Since 2017
Most times Scoring 90+ Scores in ODI With Less than 80 SR

4 times - Babar Azam*
3 times - Shai Hope
2 times - Kane Williamson
2 times - Kyle Coetzer

Unlike Williamson and Hope, Babar has a career strike rate close to 90 in ODIs, which shows that more often than not, he bats at a very good pace, while scoring consistent runs with a very good conversion rate.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This too shall pass. Stay strong. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ViratKohli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ViratKohli</a> <a href="https://t.co/ozr7BFFgXt">pic.twitter.com/ozr7BFFgXt</a></p>— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) <a href="https://twitter.com/babarazam258/status/1547657073587933190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This too shall pass. Stay strong. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ViratKohli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ViratKohli</a> <a href="https://t.co/ozr7BFFgXt">pic.twitter.com/ozr7BFFgXt</a></p>— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) <a href="https://twitter.com/babarazam258/status/1547657073587933190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Biggest own goal of his career
 
Babar Azam in Asia Cup 2022

6 matches
68 runs
Avg : 11.33
SR : 108
HS - 30

Babar went out of his way to uplift Kohli. Kohli will do no such thing. Trust Pakistani players to suck up to international players.
 
If you play two accumulators at the top, it is problematic.

Rizwan and Babar shouldn't open. One of them needs to bat at #4 or lower. It should be flexible (depending on team's need).
 
Someone had posted a video of Babar in some domestic or fun match smashing the hell out of some nobody bowlers. It doesn't matter if the bowlers were of a low quality - many very good players can't even thrash club cricketers even if they tried.

So I don't think he doesn't have the game. The question is - why did he feel free in his mind during that game to thrash the bowling, but never in international cricket.
 
T20 rankings are broken. They should factor in both SR and runs scored. Both Rizwan and Babar are brilliant batsmen but not suited for T20. Anyone who plays too many dot balls should not be allowed in the team. Either take singles/doubles regularly or hit boundaries.
 
He himself played a bad innings!

However, gone under the radar because of Shan and Rizwan's incompetent hitting.
 
Babar is just playing for personal milestones, thats the culture now in pakistani cricket, players have no interest in teams needs.
 
Pathetic innings

He had no intent


Dummy Saqlain can not continue as a coach at all, we need a coach who can take powers away from dictator Babar Azam.
 
Even Imam can play at a similar S/R to what Babar is playing in T20's for the past year or so. When Babar started his T20 career he was fluent especially in the PP but now a days he's happy to play at a S/R of 100 even in the PP
 
The only time Baber took any risk last night he was caught at boundary. People compare him with Kohli but fact is Kohli is class apart even in t20is. He can walk down the pitch and hit pacers for sixes and he can flick powerful enough to make ball land in the crowd. This is an incredible power Kohli has whenever he is required to accelerate.

Baber on the other hand is really limited and relies on timing and placements. He doesn't play big shots because he knows that is not his strength.

The thing about this approach is it can't work in modern day T20is where 180+ has become a normal score.

As always we are behind the world cricket. All thanks to Misbah and people who backed his medieval approach.

Baber and Rizwan should either enhance their power game or should be ready for Aqib type criticism coming their way. I don't like him much but he is spot on with his statement on Baber and Rizwan. Rizwan batted almost whole innings and yet left Pakistan way out of game chasing a par 170 runs total. It is the truth. These two may be scoring runs but at the end of the day it matters how they are scoring.
 
Babar and Rizwan need to realise that T20 is a 20 over game and they have 10 wickets to play with. If either of them are still at the crease after 9-10 overs, they should take every risk in the book to either hit our or get out.

You don’t get bonus points for conserving wickets.
 
And you seen what happens when they get out early, the team struggle to score even a 100 together.
 
Babar and Rizwan need to realise that T20 is a 20 over game and they have 10 wickets to play with. If either of them are still at the crease after 9-10 overs, they should take every risk in the book to either hit our or get out.

You don’t get bonus points for conserving wickets.

I think you do get bonus points in the ICC rankings
 
Babar and Rizwan need to realise that T20 is a 20 over game and they have 10 wickets to play with. If either of them are still at the crease after 9-10 overs, they should take every risk in the book to either hit our or get out.

You don’t get bonus points for conserving wickets.

I think you do get bonus points in the ICC rankings

You do get bonus runs with Babar still at the crease. After all he is one of the best batsman in the world. And when he is going to be out he is going to be replaced by a rubbish batsman.

Not hard to understand.
 
You do get bonus runs with Babar still at the crease. After all he is one of the best batsman in the world. And when he is going to be out he is going to be replaced by a rubbish batsman.

Not hard to understand.
What bonus runs?

We get more dots and wasted deliveries too
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This too shall pass. Stay strong. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ViratKohli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ViratKohli</a> <a href="https://t.co/ozr7BFFgXt">pic.twitter.com/ozr7BFFgXt</a></p>— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) <a href="https://twitter.com/babarazam258/status/1547657073587933190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Commentators brought this up today hahahahahah

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Simon Doull calling out Kohli for not returning the favor of encouragement to Babar when he was out of form, lol.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PakvsNz?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PakvsNz</a></p>— Sulaiman (@Sulaiman_2334) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sulaiman_2334/status/1590295012050231297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
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On that track, no batsman looked out of place. Even the NZ batsman was not looking out of place. They only lost 4 wickets one of which was run out. Apart from Finn Allen's wicket, I don't think any wicket was earned. If you decide not to get out on that track you can do. Very docile with no real purchase for anyone. Pakistan's line and lengths made them take risks. In contrast, NZ served an all-you-can-eat Buffet.
 
Most balls faced in a T20WC tournament without hitting a Six

140 - Shoaib Malik (2009)
133 - Babar Azam (2022)*
125 - Craig Ervine (2022)
106 - George Munsey (2022)
105 - Salman Butt (2007)
105 - Ahmed Shahzad (2016)
 
Babar case is quite similar to Joe root both are classy batsmen and are great in test and odis but in t20 you need batters who can clear boundary easily. England had plenty of boundary hitter type players but unfortunately for us we lack in batting department in both domestic and international
 
Most balls faced in a T20WC tournament without hitting a Six

140 - Shoaib Malik (2009)
133 - Babar Azam (2022)*
125 - Craig Ervine (2022)
106 - George Munsey (2022)
105 - Salman Butt (2007)
105 - Ahmed Shahzad (2016)

This topic was touched several times. But counter argument was he will "find" gaps and hit "fours".
 
England had the balls to drop Joe Root from the T20 side despite him being their overall best batsman, because he wasn't a power hitter. Will Pakistan do the same with Babar? I doubt it. He will play international T20 for another ten years, at least.
 
England had the balls to drop Joe Root from the T20 side despite him being their overall best batsman, because he wasn't a power hitter. Will Pakistan do the same with Babar? I doubt it. He will play international T20 for another ten years, at least.
England can do that because they have 10-12 guys who can come in and do the job while we don't have any batsmen as good as babar. Haider asif khushdil iftikhar all failed even fakhar was struggling before his injury
 
England had the balls to drop Joe Root from the T20 side despite him being their overall best batsman, because he wasn't a power hitter. Will Pakistan do the same with Babar? I doubt it. He will play international T20 for another ten years, at least.

England had plenty of better attacking options than root

Who have pakistan got that can replace babar? The middle order cant even hold a bat the right way and you want babar replacing?
 
England can do that because they have 10-12 guys who can come in and do the job while we don't have any batsmen as good as babar. Haider asif khushdil iftikhar all failed even fakhar was struggling before his injury

That is exactly the reason why guys like Babar and Rizwan keep getting a free pass in the team, because of failures of others. They are so lucky.
 
England had plenty of better attacking options than root

Who have pakistan got that can replace babar? The middle order cant even hold a bat the right way and you want babar replacing?

I don't exactly want Babar replaced. But I want him to bat at number 3. I am sick of him and his buddy Rizwan wasting power play overs.
 
England can do that because they have 10-12 guys who can come in and do the job while we don't have any batsmen as good as babar. Haider asif khushdil iftikhar all failed even fakhar was struggling before his injury

Nonsense

There are plenty of modern thinkers in Pakistan who know the domestic players and can pick a much more destructive batting line up than this rubbish we saw on display. You don’t need technically correct players to build a T20 side aiming to score 180+
 
That is exactly the reason why guys like Babar and Rizwan keep getting a free pass in the team, because of failures of others. They are so lucky.

But those guys are set up to fail because of these two at the top

These two in the same positions are as useless as the Khushdil’s and Iftikhars at 4, 5 and 6

Rizwan was a failure everywhere for a very very long time. He was given a pass to get value for his shots as an opener, he is benefiting but even then he is scoring harmless runs.
 
England had plenty of better attacking options than root

Who have pakistan got that can replace babar? The middle order cant even hold a bat the right way and you want babar replacing?

Also, this argument that Pakistan have no one to replace Babar is nonsensical, in my opinion. We will never know until we give other players a chance. But of course, insecure Babar will never give other players a chance that could threaten his place in the team as an opener.
 
But those guys are set up to fail because of these two at the top

These two in the same positions are as useless as the Khushdil’s and Iftikhars at 4, 5 and 6

Rizwan was a failure everywhere for a very very long time. He was given a pass to get value for his shots as an opener, he is benefiting but even then he is scoring harmless runs.

I want Rizwan dropped from the team altogether. I have seen enough from him to come to a conclusion that he isn't a T20 player.
 
This topic was touched several times. But counter argument was he will "find" gaps and hit "fours".

Did a fantastic job finding the fielders yesterday. Every shot to a fielder. Felt like I was watching Ahmed Shehzad in 2022.

Compare this to the English batsmen finding gaps without having to slog.

Gotta stop treating Babar like royalty. Should not be above criticism like some Pak fans treat him.
 
I want Rizwan dropped from the team altogether. I have seen enough from him to come to a conclusion that he isn't a T20 player.

I have been saying this for 2-3 years. We have created a huge mess for ourselves by allowing this guy too spread his web. Any new coach/selector will not drop him right away, and Rizwan is smart enough to score pointless runs to make himself look like a ‘performer’.

This is why we need a ruthless and blunt coach like Ponting or maybe Langer who isn’t going to be fooled.

Aqib Javed will end him as well if he gets the chance to do it too.
 
Would you back babar to score 40 last 3 overs while chasing like Kohli? It's a skill he needs to learn

Predicted the future lol.

But in all seriousness. 2 worldcups have passed since this and he still has this problem. He needs to fix this. He got out in the NZ semifinal because the first time he tried clearing the rope he got out. And this isn't just a T20 problem. It's gonna pose a problem in ODIs too considering how fast paced the game has gotten and the need to accelerate.

He really needs to pack on some muscle and start trying to clear the fence.
 
Also while he's improved his game against spin it's pretty obvious it's one of his weaker elements. Theres a reason SA bowled out their spinners. It was a very very obvious ploy specifically against Babar to contain him.

These problems were identified more than a year ago. And they finally caught up to him
 
Most balls faced in a T20WC tournament without hitting a Six

140 - Shoaib Malik (2009)
133 - Babar Azam (2022)*
125 - Craig Ervine (2022)
106 - George Munsey (2022)
105 - Salman Butt (2007)
105 - Ahmed Shahzad (2016)

Wow, 4 out of 6 are from Pakistan. Something is seriously wrong ...

Is this list genuine?
 
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