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

Well on his way there :afridi

Superb innings :14:

he was hyped specifically by the most realistic member of pakpassion.. the talent of the decade or 25 years i guess. Dr Mamoon bhai first called him the best talent of pakistan today he said that well he will come good if proper homework is performed on him(something along those lines) :)) :))



[MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION] no offense bro but a pakistani batters are exceptionally hard to live up to the expectations of people. He is not that good. I hope he comes good but to me it looks very hard that he will be a platinum grade international batsman
 
This is not it.
Let him score couple of decent scores and comparison threads will start rolling out.
Expectation is human's biggest reason for sadness. :(
 
he was hyped specifically by the most realistic member of pakpassion.. the talent of the decade or 25 years i guess. Dr Mamoon bhai first called him the best talent of pakistan today he said that well he will come good if proper homework is performed on him(something along those lines) :)) :))



[MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION] no offense bro but a pakistani batters are exceptionally hard to live up to the expectations of people. He is not that good. I hope he comes good but to me it looks very hard that he will be a platinum grade international batsman

Overhyped, yes, mainly because we are desperately in need of a good batsman, specially an opener. Too early to make any judgements, though. Don't see him as the new 'Tendulkar', at any rate. :shehzad
 
Well on his way there :afridi

Superb innings :14:

You expect him to score a 50 every match ?
This thread is OTT but Babar is still the best young prospect in the country, one failure doesn't mean otherwise.
 
When people make OTT threads like this then don't cry and start whining if you get called out on it.

Yes he's a talent but having not faced any top bowling attacks until now (even this is a second string English attack) the Babar Brigade making crazy comparisons like this do him no favours and creates unnecessary pressure.

The hype machine on here needs to calm down and let him have a run in the side before we make any judgements.
 
You expect him to score a 50 every match ?
This thread is OTT but Babar is still the best young prospect in the country

i thought that was Umar Akmal? I see Babar is the new flavour of the month then :D

Good luck to the kid. Hope he does well.
 
You expect him to score a 50 every match ?
This thread is OTT but Babar is still the best young prospect in the country, one failure doesn't mean otherwise.

So Babar can be a Root/Smith/Williamson type player after one fifty but not a dud after one failure?

Do you see the irony in that?
 
So Babar can be a Root/Smith/Williamson type player after one fifty but not a dud after one failure?

Do you see the irony in that?

Because those players made 50s each game when they were 20? Stop being critical for the sake of being critical, he's our best batting prospect of his age and is obviously extremely talented - we're right to be optimistic about his chances and to support him instead of criticize him into the floor after 1 failure....fickle mentality of putting down talented youngsters.
 
What happened today is what worries me about Babar. I have compared his list A record match by match with Asad Shafiq and their record of getting LBW/bowled/caught behind is not too dissimilar, and these are signs of a vulnerable technique. Shafiq averages 60+ in List A if you take out ODIs. I will still stand by my statement that Haris is the best among the current lot. And this statement is backed by thorough research, not just first looks.

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Now its Babar,Yesterday it was Sami Aslam, few days ago it was sarfaraz/Akmal and tomorrow it will be someone else.For some ppl, Names change but trend of obsession doesn't.This trend is actually a product of Afridi-Syndrome and it will take time to fix it.
When did someone say something like this about Kohli/Smith/Root/Williamson when they had played less than 10 matches.

Pakistan's success does to Pakistani supporters what defeat does to supporters of other teams : DISTORTED PERCEPTIONS.
 
Now its Babar,Yesterday it was Sami Aslam, few days ago it was sarfaraz/Akmal and tomorrow it will be someone else.For some ppl, Names change but trend of obsession doesn't.This trend is actually a product of Afridi-Syndrome and it will take time to fix it.
When did someone say something like this about Kohli/Smith/Root/Williamson when they had played less than 10 matches.

Pakistan's success does to Pakistani supporters what defeat does to supporters of other teams : DISTORTED PERCEPTIONS.
What does this post achieve other than mock your intellectuality? Fans and hype have never been mutually exclusive. Can you list at least one drastic consequence of prematurely hyping up a player?

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Why not? Root got a duck in last match.

A batsman should never be judged for his 1st 30 minutes - even Bradman has 23 innings of 20 or lower, out of the 70 times he got dismissed - that's 1 out of 3.

A batsman should be judged once he is set (& how many times he is set). I don't mind a batsman having a 7 match series like 62*, 4, 0, 2, 127, 1 & 85 - the day you are set, a top batsman should make a significant contribution.

I can tell that Azhar is in horrible form; but not Babar or MoHa.
 
Why not? Root got a duck in last match.

A batsman should never be judged for his 1st 30 minutes - even Bradman has 23 innings of 20 or lower, out of the 70 times he got dismissed - that's 1 out of 3.

A batsman should be judged once he is set (& how many times he is set). I don't mind a batsman having a 7 match series like 62*, 4, 0, 2, 127, 1 & 85 - the day you are set, a top batsman should make a significant contribution.

I can tell that Azhar is in horrible form; but not Babar or MoHa.

What position do you think Babar should bat at ?
 
This is not it.
Let him score couple of decent scores and comparison threads will start rolling out.
Expectation is human's biggest reason for sadness. :(

You clearly haven't been here long enough.
 
Azhar
Babar/Hafeez
Hafeez/Babar
Haris
Malik
Rizwan
Sarfraz

I think this is our best top 7 at the moment. Sarfraz at number 7 is not ideal, but there is no room for him elsewhere.
 
I think the wicket has eased out considerably with dew. PAK goofed up in both ways - ideally, a chasing side should look for a position of 197/2 at this point - may be at this point 213/6 or 160/2 can also do, but you can't lose 5 inside 20 overs going at 2.5.
 
Azhar
Babar/Hafeez
Hafeez/Babar
Haris
Malik
Rizwan
Sarfraz

I think this is our best top 7 at the moment. Sarfraz at number 7 is not ideal, but there is no room for him elsewhere.

That 'll limit the bowling - you can't go with Anwar as 4th bowler. Ideally, Azhar should be dropped, Imad comes for him & Haris opening with MoHa. The more matches Azhar plays, I think teams 'll learn to restrict him - his best (read only) role should be PAK Test opener for next 10 years & focus on that.
 

That 'll limit the bowling - you can't go with Anwar as 4th bowler. Ideally, Azhar should be dropped, Imad comes for him & Haris opening with MoHa. The more matches Azhar plays, I think teams 'll learn to restrict him - his best (read only) role should be PAK Test opener for next 10 years & focus on that.

Imad, Anwar, Wahab and Hamza/Amir as 8/9/10/11.

Going with Anwar as the third-seamer is risky but this lineup has very good batting depth. Playing specialist bowlers has done nothing for us in these conditions over the years because of no depth in batting.

You will win a lot more ODIs in this era if you are still very much in the game even if you are 6 or 7 down with 15-20 overs to go.

I don't think Yasir should be discarded as an ODI bowler yet but it is difficult to find him a place in the XI especially when he is competing with Imad who bats much better and so far has proved to be a better ODI spinner.
 
I think we need a version of AB de Villiers or KP or Gilchrist more than Kohli/Smith/Williamson etc! In ODIs especially!
 
Imad, Anwar, Wahab and Hamza/Amir as 8/9/10/11.

Going with Anwar as the third-seamer is risky but this lineup has very good batting depth. Playing specialist bowlers has done nothing for us in these conditions over the years because of no depth in batting.

You will win a lot more ODIs in this era if you are still very much in the game even if you are 6 or 7 down with 15-20 overs to go.

I don't think Yasir should be discarded as an ODI bowler yet but it is difficult to find him a place in the XI especially when he is competing with Imad who bats much better and so far has proved to be a better ODI spinner.

Batting depth works if you play to back that - classic example was the SAF side in 90s & in recent days AUS & BD at home. These sides have players who can contribute even from No. 9 or 10, therefore they maintain a decent RR throughout the match. PAK might play Imad, Bilal, Anwar & Aamir at 8, 9, 10 & 11 - still you 'll see the approach to reach 40th over with 8 wickets at hand.

Personally, I think PAK mentally is a bowling team - always believes that bowlers 'll do something; may be best way to go is solid 40 overs & 2 batting all-rounders. For PAK's benefit, Sarfraz is much better bat than average PAK wicket-keepers.
 
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What does this post achieve other than mock your intellectuality? Fans and hype have never been mutually exclusive. Can you list at least one drastic consequence of prematurely hyping up a player?

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Firstly; You should read between the lines.
Secondly; In my post I just described a happening and not its merits or demerits.You shouldn't be asking me about its drastic consequences because I haven't talked about the goods and bads of this happening.

Lastly; You should read between the lines.
 
Batting depth works if you play to back that - classic example was the SAF side in 90s & in recent days AUS & BD at home. These sides have players who can contribute even from No. 9 or 10, therefore they maintain a decent RR throughout the match. PAK might play Imad, Bilal, Anwar & Aamir at 8, 9, 10 & 11 - still you 'll see the approach to reach 40th over with 8 wickets at hand.

Personally, I think PAK mentally is a bowling team - always believes that bowlers 'll do something; may be best way to go is solid 40 overs & 2 batting all-rounders. For PAK's benefit, Sarfraz is much better bat than average PAK wicket-keepers.

Which is the main reason for our failures in ODIs, especially in the UAE. We boasted the chucker, the so-called best ODI spinner of the last 10 years and yet what are our results? Shambolic.

Bowlers will never win you ODIs in this part of the world - it is simply a batting shootout and they are the support cast.
 
The way fans wrist slit their cricketers, i can understand why there is no value for emerging talent in Pakistan.

Babar scored 2 50s in 5 matches if i am not wrong. His technique isn't special but i think he can do well with hard work
 
Azhar
Babar/Hafeez
Hafeez/Babar
Haris
Malik
Rizwan
Sarfraz

I think this is our best top 7 at the moment. Sarfraz at number 7 is not ideal, but there is no room for him elsewhere.

In the next series, I'd go for:

Azhar
Babar
Hafeez
Sarfraz
Malik
Rizwan
Imad
Anwar
Yasir/Gohar
Wahab
Amir/Irfan
 
To me he has immense potential to become one of the best in future but, sending him at opening slot right away is not only will damage his career it can also hamper his confidance, knowing pakistani selector they will throw him out of radar soon if he fails two more games at opening slot. He should bat right now in the middle order where he can negotitae the innings through get the experince which not only give him boost but olso help him to understand palying at this level. Player like tendulkar even started his career bating 6 no postion even seven if I remember correct, so why not Babar. It is better seniors should face the new balls and pressure from the moment game starts on.
 
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Overhyped, yes, mainly because we are desperately in need of a good batsman, specially an opener. Too early to make any judgements, though. Don't see him as the new 'Tendulkar', at any rate. :shehzad

I do not rate tendulkar as a platinum grade international batsman though. Ponting Lara Miandad, yes. No sachin :p please. We need someone who can score on south african pitches, he could not do that :).
 
I do not rate tendulkar as a platinum grade international batsman though. Ponting Lara Miandad, yes. No sachin :p please. We need someone who can score on south african pitches, he could not do that :).

Sachin has 5 test hundreds in SA with an avg of above 40.
 
I do not rate tendulkar as a platinum grade international batsman though. Ponting Lara Miandad, yes. No sachin :p please. We need someone who can score on south african pitches, he could not do that :).

Correction!

Sachin averaged 46.44 in South Africa in 15 tests, Ponting averaged 46.85 in 11 tests and Lara averaged 46.72 in 9 tests.

Dravid averaged 29.71 in 11 tests, Sangakkara averaged 35.75 in 8 tests, Younis Khan averages 32.60 in 8 tests.
 
India Kohli, NZ Williamson, ENG Root, Aus Smith, finally Pakistan Babar Azam!

Pakistan has finally found the perfect number 3 in Babar Azam,

Its time to forget the differences and enjoy Babar Azam as much as we can he'll play the same and give Pakistan crucial wins,

But the only worry is his Akmal genes, looks a great a guy though

Pakistan shouldn't alter his position our best batsman should play at one down position!
 
If he keeps discipline, he will go long way. Following him and Sami Aslam since their under 15 days. I hope he fulfills his potential.
 
This has potential to turn into a "Shehzad more talented than Sachin" legendary thread.
 
I remember threads like these came up when Umar Akmal bursted in the International scene, People said he was better then Kohli. Now look what happened.

Point is stop putting youngsters in the bracket of world class; there is a long way to go.
 
Thing is he has come via proper system and has always performed at all levels. He is not in Umar Akmal or Shahzad league.
 
Very early to say...at least let him play 2/3 years...UAE and outside Asia....then rate him
 
He will be a great player if he is persisted in Top 3. These days, in ODI, it's easier to bat almost everywhere than UAE, BD & SRL. The innings he played today is a perfect example of how one should bat on a slowish wicket, coming at 0/1. I believe, he'll bat better in AUS, SAF or NZ ODI wickets, because of his timing & placements. Those who think that you need to be heavy duty to hit a six in Cricket don't have much clue of cricket batting. That 98 metre six in dead slow Shahrjah wicket would have reached second tier of MCG - that's 115 metres at least.

My only fear is, the way Arthur has gone after Buzurg players, he might get sacked after AUS tour. PAK is likely to get a royal thrashing in ODI down under, but just like 2000, when stupid board sacked Pybus (after losing 3-0 Test series - that score card doesn't tell how close the Series was), after AUS tour, Arthur might be in tight corners. If he is sacked - PAK might play 2019 WC with this line-up

Azhar*, Shehzad, MoHa, Malik, Sarfu+, Babar, Fawad, Imad, Aamir, Wahab, JK/Tannu.

They have made Maqsood A team Captain - for me that's Uganda level decision, so, anything is possible - posters are welcome to taunt me for this.
 
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Its just his first hundred. Speaks a lot about the lack of hundreds from pak batsmen in the past years that we are quick hype up anybody who gets 100 & hype them as the second coming of bradman.

One century doesn't make anybody a genius. The other gentlemen's name you mentioned have been consistent for the last 5-6 years & are rated because of that not because of one random innings.
 
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.
 
I think he has potential to reach the level of Root and Williamson but not Smith or Kohli
 
Kohli is on a different level than any player at the moment, including Root, Williamson, and Smith (in ODI's in Tests Smith was on a whole other level)

Regarding Babar he has the potential to be one of our greatest batsman ever, let's not compare him to anyone and let him build his own legacy.
 
Dont think any Pakistani batsmen will ever reach Kohli’s level. Especially in terms of chasing. To trach Kohli’s level, one needs mental toughness, proper aggression and match awareness. All of which Pakistanis lack.
 
Who the hell are Kohli, Root, Smith, Williamson in T20Is?? I'm sorry but i don't see them in Top 10. :afridi
 
Is Babar still ahead of where Kohli was at the same age, numbers-wise?
 
he can and should be ONE of the players of his generation, but he wont be THE player of his generation
 
About time Kohli stops getting grouped with mortals. There is no Fab Four anymore, only Fab One.
 
Babar has better stats in ODIs and T20s compared to Williamson :p So he's getting close. Just need one or two clutch performances at crunch moment
 
Kohli
Smith
Root
Williamson

Quinton de Kock and Buttler are the two next set of players to look forward to.

Rahul and Babar are still a level below these two, let alone talking about the fab four.
 
Williamson?, he can easily achieve his status. May be even Root's. But, not sure whether he can reach Smith's level.

Regarding Kohli, I am sorry I don't see Babar coming anywhere close to him.
 
Williamson?, he can easily achieve his status. May be even Root's. But, not sure whether he can reach Smith's level.

Regarding Kohli, I am sorry I don't see Babar coming anywhere close to him.
if he becomes even half player of what kohli is will be great achievement.
 
if he becomes even half player of what kohli is will be great achievement.

But, I don't see him becoming even half of what Kohli is. Nothing against Babar but, it's just not that easy.

But, Babar can easily outperform Williamson in a year or two and Root in 5 years. That in itself will be a big achievement for this lad.
 
But, I don't see him becoming even half of what Kohli is. Nothing against Babar but, it's just not that easy.

But, Babar can easily outperform Williamson in a year or two and Root in 5 years. That in itself will be a big achievement for this lad.

So you seruously think KANE is not even half of Kohli>\???
 
Kohli is on a different level than any player at the moment, including Root, Williamson, and Smith (in ODI's in Tests Smith was on a whole other level)

Regarding Babar he has the potential to be one of our greatest batsman ever, let's not compare him to anyone and let him build his own legacy.

Agreed. If he scores in upcoming future series' against strong opposition + WC then his legacy will have a truly strong foundation for what he could potentially do in the long-term.
 
No way should we put Kohli in the same bracket. Kohli is a super human.

Babar is too inconsistent in ODIs and tests.
 
Statistically he is. But, I look beyond stats. For me he isn't but, you can have your opinion.

KANE is unfortunate to be born in NZ otherwise he would be same as kohli. NZ dont play enough tests and going forward they want to play more T20s than even ODIs which will affect KANE batting negatively as he will be forced to revise his wonderfully gifted technique. His technique for fast bowling is even better than Kohlis in my opinion and everybody knows here just how highly I rate kohli.
 
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I wish i could give this a yes from my heart but unfortunately he has not yet looked anything like the other 4.
 
Well the stats say Smith-Kohli-Williamson-Root were nowhere near Babar at this stage. Fastest to 1000 runs! Take that haters.
 
He is too young for that I believe. There is an atleast 5-6 years gap between Babar and those four.

If you have to reach the level of fab four, you have to start becoming prolific in test cricket because their legacy has been built by performance in test cricket and at this point, Babar needs to first establish himself in test cricket.
 
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At least in T20s he can!

But it is the format that doesn't make you a great cricketer. Pakistan is arguably the greatest cricket antion and Bobby Azam is your number 1 player. The aspiration must be to become a test great and if not a test great at least settle for LOI greatness like Rohit Sharma has managed.

Luckily Bobby has a terrific ODI record as well so far. He needs to keep up the good work and make himself known by playing some spectacular knocks.

In tests also he is finally making some runs. So all positive signs.

I can see him landing a leadership position very soon also. Let's not make Bobby the next Shobby but the next Inzi.
 
Well the stats say Smith-Kohli-Williamson-Root were nowhere near Babar at this stage. Fastest to 1000 runs! Take that haters.

no where near . Kohli makes it in 27 inning and baber in 26 inng and kohli never ever prefer T-20 , he even not playing in this series. Kohli in the starting is not a good T-20 player he improves later. Pakistan always prefer T-20 and their team mentality is same. Kohli is far better than baber even in T-20 bcz he single handly take India to final and semi-final in two consicutive t-20 WC, he is not selfish for runs like baber. When considering T-20 strike rate is what matters most and kolhi is better than tuk -tuk baber.

Anyway credits to Baber but saying no one is near him then you are sure living in fools paradise.
 
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