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Can Babar Azam become our version of Smith/Kohli/Williamson/Root?

BabarAkmal_Fan

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Nov 12, 2015
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Title says it all. We were hoping that Umar Akmal could become that, but he has ruined his own career.


I really think he has the potential to if he is managed well by the PCB and learns from the Akmals mistakes rather than follow them.
 
Too early mate..
Big fan, but let him string a few games before making such tall claims.
 
Agree with what was said above. Stop hyping up these players just because they've played two or three good innings.
 
Welcome to PP.

No it's far too early, but signs look promising.

I hope he keeps his head down though and keeps improving. We saw Umars talent in 2009 and zero improvement since.
 
Not hyping up, just a general question. I'm relatively new to Pakistan cricket (started watching from the WC 2015) and I am really curious if Babar can actually become something special.
 
Rizwan, Haris and Babar all have the potential to join the ranks of Kane, Kohli, Smith, Root and Warner. Who ultimately does, depends solely on how these three perform for the next couple of years, in all three formats.
 
either him or haris sohail have a chance.

In 22 matches - half of which were in Australia and the pressure of the world cup being a new player and all.

He averages 43 with a strike rate of 82.86. That's not even bad.

One of them will, not both though imo
 
Please stop overhyping him. We did the same with Umar and then we all know what happened :(
 
Rizwan, Haris and Babar all have the potential to join the ranks of Kane, Kohli, Smith, Root and Warner. Who ultimately does, depends solely on how these three perform for the next couple of years, in all three formats.
Only babar is the complete batsmen out of all three.
Your plastic patriotism always blinds you

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either him or haris sohail have a chance.

In 22 matches - half of which were in Australia and the pressure of the world cup being a new player and all.

He averages 43 with a strike rate of 82.86. That's not even bad.

One of them will, not both though imo
Haris is not dynamic enough to be a world class batsman, neither does he have the work ethic or motivation

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Well "our version" of them is Umar Akmal, even still. Because he played like them according to Pakistani standards
 
Williamson, Root, Kohli and Smith are regarded as the gun players beacuse they have scored successfully in diifferent playing conditions, under pressure siutations, in big tournaments and won many games for their team. Babar Azam has a looooooooong way to go before he can even be considered.

Babar had a great game and seems to have a lot of potential but I feel we are over hyping him too much too soon. He has not even played one game outside subcontinent and we dont know how he will handle swing/bounce.
 
Only babar is the complete batsmen out of all three.
Your plastic patriotism always blinds you

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Yes, only Babar is the complete batsman of the three because a generic poster with a terrible username said so.

You don't have to be a complete batsman to match Williamson and co, anyway, not all five of them are complete batsmen. You only have to score runs all around the world in tests and ODIs which is something that any one of Haris, Rizwan and Babar is capable of.
 
Yes, only Babar is the complete batsman of the three because a generic poster with a terrible username said so.

You don't have to be a complete batsman to match Williamson and co, anyway, not all five of them are complete batsmen. You only have to score runs all around the world in tests and ODIs which is something that any one of Haris, Rizwan and Babar is capable of.

Why insult a new fan man? This is why cricket is struggling to gain popularity here in the West, because of people like you who feel that you're entitled to the game more than others.

My favourite sport is hockey and no one on our hockey forum insults new fans, instead they are welcomed.
 
Yes, only Babar is the complete batsman of the three because a generic poster with a terrible username said so.

You don't have to be a complete batsman to match Williamson and co, anyway, not all five of them are complete batsmen. You only have to score runs all around the world in tests and ODIs which is something that any one of Haris, Rizwan and Babar is capable of.
Lol at the dig at my username.

Haris is not dynamic enough to match the best odi bats and simply lacks the ethic and motivation to do so.

On the other hand rizwan bats too low and I am not convinced that he has the physical capability to match somebody like kohli as he cant hit the big shots as effectively despite being more dynamic than haris.
I have doubts about these two, unless they grow beards off course:amla

Babar, though is world class.

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neither you or I know the bolded. as for the other part I disagree.
Yeah right, so u think he is dynamic?
Perhaps, that is why he always gets dismissed when the run rate has to be pushed n other than that ugly hack across the line, he has no other means to achieve it?

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Lol at the dig at my username.

Haris is not dynamic enough to match the best odi bats and simply lacks the ethic and motivation to do so.

On the other hand rizwan bats too low and I am not convinced that he has the physical capability to match somebody like kohli as he cant hit the big shots as effectively despite being more dynamic than haris.
I have doubts about these two, unless they grow beards off course:amla

Babar, though is world class.

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This is a thread based on potential. Keeping that in mind, Haris can become a bit more dynamic while batting at #3 and improve his game against spin as well. Rizwan can obviously move up the order once there is space in the batting-order, batting at #5 and scoring lots of runs as well as finishing games off too. You don't have to have a power game to succeed; if you can score quickly by playing grounded shots, it's beyond great.

Like I said before, all of them have the potential but only one will probably make it to that level. We'll find out who it will be soon enough.

Why insult a new fan man? This is why cricket is struggling to gain popularity here in the West, because of people like you who feel that you're entitled to the game more than others.

My favourite sport is hockey and no one on our hockey forum insults new fans, instead they are welcomed.

I appreciate your concern but maybe you should talk to the person calling me a plastic patriot, without any reason whatsoever.
 
Yeah right, so u think he is dynamic?
Perhaps, that is why he always gets dismissed when the run rate has to be pushed n other than that ugly hack across the line, he has no other means to achieve it?

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He's 22 matches into his career, give him a break. He can hit sixes and has hit them before. His average is pretty phenomenal all things considered and I think it will only rise.

He reminds me a lot of Inzimam (nowhere near as good) but a lot of similarities. Remarkable against pace, fat, and imo will go down as a massive underachiever. He just needs one hundred before the floodgates open.
 
Why insult a new fan man? This is why cricket is struggling to gain popularity here in the West, because of people like you who feel that you're entitled to the game more than others.

My favourite sport is hockey and no one on our hockey forum insults new fans, instead they are welcomed.
Lol, I am not a new fan and the guy [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] has a history of blindly supporting pak players.

For example,
He used to argue his backside off against anybody who called ajmal a chucker and when he was banned, mr bilal went missing from for some time.

However, the same guy denies being a pakistani which is why I called him a plastic patriot


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He's 22 matches into his career, give him a break. He can hit sixes and has hit them before. His average is pretty phenomenal all things considered and I think it will only rise.

He reminds me a lot of Inzimam (nowhere near as good) but a lot of similarities. Remarkable against pace, fat, and imo will go down as a massive underachiever. He just needs one hundred before the floodgates open.
Lol, he is hopeless against the short ball n u r comparing him to a great hooker/puller like inzamam.
The guy is great off the front foot, not so much on the back foot.

Aside from the lack of a power game, what he also struggles with is hitting the gaps.
Has strike rotation issues.

Unless, he improves significantly, which I doubt he will, he will only be an ok one day player, not a world class one as you propose.

I do rate him as a test player though as his defense is very good and he is better than shafiq as a stroke maker.

As an odi player though, he is way behind babar azam n time will show that



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Is this FCs pakistani brother. Please dont embarrass us like this. Let Babar establish himself then talk.

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Has the potential, needs to up his game in first class cricket, averaging 39 in first class at the moment.
 
Is this FCs pakistani brother. Please dont embarrass us like this. Let Babar establish himself then talk.

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My first account on PP bro. Just starting to get into cricket and was curious. I never said he IS our Williamson/Root/Kohli/Smith. I asked CAN he be.
 
My first account on PP bro. Just starting to get into cricket and was curious. I never said he IS our Williamson/Root/Kohli/Smith. I asked CAN he be.

Youngsta beauty?

Yes, Babar has potential but he's just started his career. Long way to go.
 
No, that would be Haris (given the fitness). Azam can be our version of Bailey/Rohit/Guptill/Taylor in the respective teams (i.e. 2nd best)

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No, that would be Haris (given the fitness). Azam can be our version of Bailey/Rohit/Guptill/Taylor in the respective teams (i.e. 2nd best)

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Would strongly disagree

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Welcome to PP however he has a long long way to go to get to that level and is yet to be seen if he even has the potential or capacity to reach them levels.
 
Too early to tell. Needs a lot more time, but there's no doubt that he's talented.

Babar, Haris, and Rizwan are the way forward.
 
Lol, he is hopeless against the short ball n u r comparing him to a great hooker/puller like inzamam.
The guy is great off the front foot, not so much on the back foot.

Aside from the lack of a power game, what he also struggles with is hitting the gaps.
Has strike rotation issues.

Unless, he improves significantly, which I doubt he will, he will only be an ok one day player, not a world class one as you propose.

I do rate him as a test player though as his defense is very good and he is better than shafiq as a stroke maker.

As an odi player though, he is way behind babar azam n time will show that



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Well idk why you think he lacks a power game, usually when he gives it a swing it goes all the way, he showed this in the recent zimbabwe series. He only lacks power after he gets tired (after 40-50 runs) which is just a matter of fitness when he just holes out. He's not good on the backfoot but he rarely plays off side shots to be fair and it works for him.

You can say what you want about his strike rotation but his strike rate along with average is pretty good right now and I have to respect that - it wasn't against minnows either mostly. I just like players who are competent against pace because we struggle with that. I remember the Australia game, everyone sucked and was confused. Misbah smacked maxwell for his runs, and did zilch against starc and co. I don't think there's a better player of pace in the team (maybe aside from Babar) which is why I back Haris. We'll wait and see.
 
Why players constantly have to be compared? Can't they create own identity?
 
Too early to say anything.

Though it's true that he's been earmarked since he was 14 as someone very special, and everyone has always been aware of the fact that he's very talented and technically good.
 
Rizwan, Haris and Babar all have the potential to join the ranks of Kane, Kohli, Smith, Root and Warner. Who ultimately does, depends solely on how these three perform for the next couple of years, in all three formats.

Rizwan and Haris can't match Kane, Kohli, Smith, Root and Warner.
 
Are you a Pakistani mate? Living in Pakistan?

Born in Pakistan but raised in the West for almost all my life. Loved, watched, and played ice hockey as a kid growing up (still do). Since the WC15, I've started to follow cricket (even played a bit with friends over the summer).
 
Born in Pakistan but raised in the West for almost all my life. Loved, watched, and played ice hockey as a kid growing up (still do). Since the WC15, I've started to follow cricket (even played a bit with friends over the summer).

Oh, okay. It's very unusual to find Indians and Pakistanis who aren't into cricket and into sports such as hockey. Enjoy your time with cricket. Cricket is like alcohol :)
 
Oh, okay. It's very unusual to find Indians and Pakistanis who aren't into cricket and into sports such as hockey. Enjoy your time with cricket. Cricket is like alcohol :)

Actually, it's not too rare in people like me who've spent almost the entirety of their lives in the West. I used to look down upon cricket as an immigrant game and was ashamed to follow it.

But, the WC game against SA really hooked me. Watching Pak defend that low total with AB batting like an animal really sold cricket to me :wahab
 
That would be Harris Sohail insha allaah.
Babar will be leagues ahead of them all.
 
The world is eagerly waiting for a genuinely world class Pakistani batsman and an Indian fast bowler for ages.
 
Too early to say anything.

Though it's true that he's been earmarked since he was 14 as someone very special, and everyone has always been aware of the fact that he's very talented and technically good.

Seems like Waqar fought for his inclusion in the squad too, so I have some hope he'll get a decent run at it too. That's really what he needs, for management to stick with him and let him nurture his talent.

He has yet to show the troubling personality and braindead treats that Umar Akmal and Shehzad showed at a young age, so I just hope he keeps his head screwed on straight.
 
The real question though is when and why they just decided he wasn't an opening batsman?

I get that maybe with the upcoming foreign tours they don't want to expose him with a ton of pressure up front, but Babar Azam opening gives the lineup the best balance - it doesn't overcrowd the middle - he's had success opening and he's a genuine talent up there.
 
Man he's being hyped up too much, as if he's the second coming of bradman.

It's early days, let's just hope he doesn't go the Akmal way.
 
Born in Pakistan but raised in the West for almost all my life. Loved, watched, and played ice hockey as a kid growing up (still do). Since the WC15, I've started to follow cricket (even played a bit with friends over the summer).

Wow. This is my story exactly. I always thought of it as a low level game no one follows. After I saw the hype in the first couple weeks (especially on Twitter), I was hooked. Like people actually watch this game and it's popular? There's forums where people talk about the games? It's addictive. It's frustrating. Especially when you support a team like Pakistan lol. But I'm never looking back.
 
Hypothetically speaking, Babar has the best opportunity/chance given his ability, technique, age and fitness. Like Root, Kohli etc., he has been tipped for big things since his teens as well. Time will tell of course, let's see where he stands after 3-4 years when other teams will do his homework on them and how he handles his own success, things Umar failed at spectacularly.
 
Yes, only Babar is the complete batsman of the three because a generic poster with a terrible username said so.

You don't have to be a complete batsman to match Williamson and co, anyway, not all five of them are complete batsmen. You only have to score runs all around the world in tests and ODIs which is something that any one of Haris, Rizwan and Babar is capable of.

Babar yes , the other two no .
Harris and Rizwan will not score runs all around the world in ODIs and Tests , they simply arent that good .
 
Hypothetically speaking, Babar has the best opportunity/chance given his ability, technique, age and fitness. Like Root, Kohli etc., he has been tipped for big things since his teens as well. Time will tell of course, let's see where he stands after 3-4 years when other teams will do his homework on them and how he handles his own success, things Umar failed at spectacularly.

Umar never had the technique , he was never going to do well in the longer format . ODIs yes , he should have done better .
Babar seems to have everything the other akmals have and plus the technique . Hes without a doubt an upgrade and will be disappointing if he does not have a successful international career
 
Haris or Rizwan or Fawad.

Or

All of them.

I know Fawad has a not so good looking technique but he has that stubbornness. Which can make up for his technique. Other than that his debut 100 against SL on a seaming track is a good example. I feel he should be given a go in Test cricket after Misbah or YK retires.

As far as Babar is concerned, I am not fully convinced with him yet. He looks vulnerable as well as solid at the same time when at the crease. I m a bit confused about him. Lets see how he goes today.
 
Fawad ? please tell me you dont mean Fawad Alam .

The guy has no technique , no talent , there is nothing there . The worst top order batsmen I have seen play for any test playing nation . i
 
Title says it all. We were hoping that Umar Akmal could become that, but he has ruined his own career.


I really think he has the potential to if he is managed well by the PCB and learns from the Akmals mistakes rather than follow them.

Let the kid settle yera...we have had many 'future greats' that have crashed & burned. Let Babar be Babar.
 
Fawad ? please tell me you dont mean Fawad Alam .

The guy has no technique , no talent , there is nothing there . The worst top order batsmen I have seen play for any test playing nation . i

Don't worry, the same guy thinks Bilal Asif is a gem.
 
Umar never had the technique , he was never going to do well in the longer format . ODIs yes , he should have done better .
Babar seems to have everything the other akmals have and plus the technique . Hes without a doubt an upgrade and will be disappointing if he does not have a successful international career

You can survive without technique as well, if you have a good cricketing brain which will enable you to have good shot-selection, but more so than his imperfect technique, it was his mental capitulation that proved his downfall.
 
From what i have seen, Babar struggles at the start of his innings for first 10-20 runs and after that he looks solid.
Haris does not struggle at the start of innings. He finds singles easily. But he struggles when he tries to hit the ball out of the park.
Rizwan struggles a little bit against quality spin.
 
From what i have seen, Babar struggles at the start of his innings for first 10-20 runs and after that he looks solid.
Haris does not struggle at the start of innings. He finds singles easily. But he struggles when he tries to hit the ball out of the park.
Rizwan struggles a little bit against quality spin.
Yup that is the whole point. Haris has it in him to become the Pakistani version of players mentioned. Babar from what I've seen since his u19 days and his FC/LA games is that hr gets out LBW, bowled, caught behind quite often early on in the innings, much like Shafiq does. I hope he doesn't end up like Shafiq though who has a Bradmanesque List A record (60+ avg if you remove ODIs).

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Another guy going through the hype machine.
 
Babar is a poor starter even in fc cricket usually gets out early or scores big when in.
 
Well on his way there :afridi

Superb innings :14:

Ohhhh, so you anticipated him to score every innings, especially given that it is his sixth match.

You honestly would prefer to have the narrative proven right vs Babar doing well for Pakistan.

Shall I go through a plethora of players you would have dropped based on, what, one failure?

It's a joke of a post to be fair.

This is cricket, this is the sport, more than half the time, look at every player in the world, you fail, statistically speaking.

ABDV for example has 70/187 50+ scores in ODIs, let's approximate about 10-15 matches of not outs and quick endings and even make it 85 and that is still less than half his innings of successes.

People continuously ignore facts and just try to be right.

In baseball, the best hitters hit 0.300, and I use this for contrast because cricket is similar in that aspect. It means 70% of the time, they fail. Do people dub them failures?

Nope.

These numbers should be brought onto screen and an entire study should be done so as the majority of cricket heads stop with these ridiculous expectations and become pompous after one failure.

I love this notion, one success, meh, one failure, I TOLD YOU SO!?!? Do you not see the juxtaposition here?
[MENTION=139353]ChachaCricket[/MENTION]

Getting tired of this stuff really..
 
Why do we even need to reaffirm that he should continue to play? Certified failures have represented us for half a decade, its depressing we get worried the management will do something idiotic in regards to our best batsman in his age group.
 
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