[EXCLUSIVE] "Whole world applauds Babar Azam and we criticize him": Zain Abbas

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In the latest episode of Cricket Conversations powered by PakPassion, Mohammad Aizaz joined Pakistan's seasoned first-class campaigner Zain Abbas. The left-handed batter from Kabirwala has topped the run charts on multiple occasions in domestic and List A cricket.

In 2017, he was close to playing for Pakistan but an unfortunate accident left him out of the game for two years. Zain broke his ankle while coming down the stairs in Karachi. These days, the stylish batter from Southern Punjab is playing league cricket in the UK and is following Pakistan Cricket closely.

He talked about Pakistan's lackluster performance recently, severe criticism of Babar Azam, his performances in first-class cricket and why he couldn't represent Pakistan despite scoring runs consistently.

Key highlights of the interview are:
  • Journey from his hometown Kabirwala to becoming a prominent player in Pakistan's domestic circuit.
  • The challenges and decisions involved in pursuing cricket as a career.
  • Reflects on his near-selection for the national team in 2017, an unfortunate ankle injury that sidelined him for two years, and his feelings about missing the opportunity to represent Pakistan.
  • His views on the selection criteria, particularly the emphasis on PSL performances over consistent domestic players.
  • Mohsin Naqvi's proposal for a Pentangular Tournament to provide more opportunities for domestic players.
  • Insight into the potential involvement of international cricket figures like Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie in Pakistan's cricket selection process.
  • Recounts some of his most memorable innings in domestic cricket, showcasing his skill and consistency.
  • Names some of the toughest bowlers he has faced in his career.
  • Analysis and opinions on Pakistan's performance in the recent T20 World Cup.
  • Potential geopolitical and cricketing implications of India visiting Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025.

Watch the full interview here:

 
Yes, Babar has been exposed in a team full of players with 150+ SR and in a country with best batting talent
We are talking Babar here. Fact is Babar has been a failure for a very long time. For a bat hyped as much as he is, the outcome is very poor. His numbers are so bad, that even his place in the team should be questioned. Together with his fitness (lack of fitness) he is going downhill fast.
 
We are talking Babar here. Fact is Babar has been a failure for a very long time. For a bat hyped as much as he is, the outcome is very poor. His numbers are so bad, that even his place in the team should be questioned. Together with his fitness (lack of fitness) he is going downhill fast.
Hype or no hype I can assure you he'll continue to be the mainstay of our batting for next 5-6 years.
Middle order does not exist and openers like haider Saim Haris Usman have failed emphatically. He remains the best we've got
 
Hype or no hype I can assure you he'll continue to be the mainstay of our batting for next 5-6 years.
Middle order does not exist and openers like haider Saim Haris Usman have failed emphatically. He remains the best we've got
He is no mainstay, he is a failure in the last 3 ICC events and always fails in the big pressure games. Biggest example is his glaring weakness vs spin. Kuldeep Yadav got him during the WC19 and 4 years later Babar still had no clue vs KY and got out again. Also Babar as captain keeps backing massive failures and never gives chances to other guys. I mean how can you keep playing the likes of Azam Khan and Iftikhar over the likes of Salman Agha and Saud. Not that they are world beaters, but at least they know how to hold a bat and have decent fitness levels.
 
Hype or no hype I can assure you he'll continue to be the mainstay of our batting for next 5-6 years.
Middle order does not exist and openers like haider Saim Haris Usman have failed emphatically. He remains the best we've got


If Babar played for Zimbabwe/Uganda level team then such 'best available to us' arguments are ok and fans have no option but to accept and enjoy whatever soft runs he scores rationalizing that anyway team is incapable of winning.

Pak is a big established team. If they are having a weak batting era then naturally fans expectation of the sole generational great are to rally and inspire the rest of mediocre team in big matches and big tournaments. Barring 2019 WC, Babar has failed again and again to have even the kind of performances that Brendan Taylor had against big teams in 2015.

Fans have every right to criticize and hold him to higher standards than he is delivering
 
No one in the world praises Babar, what for ? what exactly has he done worth praising . I have yet to see him playing any match winning or match saving inning against a decent team or in a foreign country . He is the most overrated player in recent times.
 
What he is saying is true. The whole world acknowledges Babar but now, Babar is not fit for captaincy and he should just let is go, secondly, his place in T20 is a big question.

World needs to go beyond hype and see the real deal. Maybe captaincy is an extra burden that is keeping Babar under pressure, but time to think about this guy's place in t20s.
 
He is no mainstay, he is a failure in the last 3 ICC events and always fails in the big pressure games. Biggest example is his glaring weakness vs spin. Kuldeep Yadav got him during the WC19 and 4 years later Babar still had no clue vs KY and got out again. Also Babar as captain keeps backing massive failures and never gives chances to other guys. I mean how can you keep playing the likes of Azam Khan and Iftikhar over the likes of Salman Agha and Saud. Not that they are world beaters, but at least they know how to hold a bat and have decent fitness levels.
And which batsman from Pak has had great ICC tournament in last few years?
 
If Babar played for Zimbabwe/Uganda level team then such 'best available to us' arguments are ok and fans have no option but to accept and enjoy whatever soft runs he scores rationalizing that anyway team is incapable of winning.

Pak is a big established team. If they are having a weak batting era then naturally fans expectation of the sole generational great are to rally and inspire the rest of mediocre team in big matches and big tournaments. Barring 2019 WC, Babar has failed again and again to have even the kind of performances that Brendan Taylor had against big teams in 2015.

Fans have every right to criticize and hold him to higher standards than he is delivering
Nothing wrong but wanting him to be dropped is ridiculous at this point
 
Zain Abbas pointed put a simple thing that the whole world praises Babar. Obviously, his form in ICC events was mediocre so he will be bashed for that and also for his poor captaincy.
 
Zain Abbas pointed put a simple thing that the whole world praises Babar. Obviously, his form in ICC events was mediocre so he will be bashed for that and also for his poor captaincy.
No one really cares about jamodis. Playing 2nd string attacks.

The world is not praising him anymore. In fact people now asking questions about his SR etc.
 
I remember his performances for Southern Punjab in the domestic circuit. It's ironic that after recovering from an injury and delivering consistent performances, he didn't get a chance to represent Pakistan.

I think the PCB should open doors for all domestic performers in Test cricket and give chances to as many players as possible. They're already taking players from the PSL for white-ball cricket
 
Because of his pathetic selections he will make sure you will buy the hype. With him as the top player, be ready for further losses.
Be reasonable. I don't think any captain purposefully picks bad players just to lose and to make himself look good. Saim Usman Iftikhar are all your top run getters in PSL.
Check Saud and Salman's domestic T20 numbers before hyping them up as the next saviours
 
What he is saying is true. The whole world acknowledges Babar but now, Babar is not fit for captaincy and he should just let is go, secondly, his place in T20 is a big question.

World needs to go beyond hype and see the real deal. Maybe captaincy is an extra burden that is keeping Babar under pressure, but time to think about this guy's place in t20s.
Babar self-inflicted his burden by taking back the captaincy because it is an obsession in our country that the best player has to be captain.

Yousuf was a prime example, Great player but atrocious captain.
 
Be reasonable. I don't think any captain purposefully picks bad players just to lose and to make himself look good. Saim Usman Iftikhar are all your top run getters in PSL.
Check Saud and Salman's domestic T20 numbers before hyping them up as the next saviours
I am reasonable.
Babar keeps playing and selecting mega failures like Azam, Iftikhar, Shadab, Rauf / messing up the batting order. Saud and Salman both had a good PSL and are actually batsmen unlike frauds like Azam and Iftikhar. Again they are not the next saviours, but playing Azam Khan in the national team was the height of stupidity.

Babar with his fans is obsessed with personal milestones.
 
Praising Babar, has now become a cultural phenomenon.

The massive relentless hype around the generational talent just wont die.

Lesson for all Pak youngsters, stats padding can also get your name in history books.
:inti
 
I am reasonable.
Babar keeps playing and selecting mega failures like Azam, Iftikhar, Shadab, Rauf / messing up the batting order. Saud and Salman both had a good PSL and are actually batsmen unlike frauds like Azam and Iftikhar. Again they are not the next saviours, but playing Azam Khan in the national team was the height of stupidity.

Babar with his fans is obsessed with personal milestones.
Before Saud and Salman it was saim Usman haider for the deluded posters here.

Babar is almost always the top performer in PSL. Same PSL people use as yardstick to hype up players like Salman and saud based on 1 season, but want Babar to be dropped.

Babar is criticised for lack of power game I wonder what will they make of Saud and Salman 😀.

I bet people will come up with new names after Salman and Saud fail.

I agree Babar is not a good captain but as batsman alone he's not going anywhere until he decides to retire
 
Before Saud and Salman it was saim Usman haider for the deluded posters here.

Babar is almost always the top performer in PSL. Same PSL people use as yardstick to hype up players like Salman and saud based on 1 season, but want Babar to be dropped.

Babar is criticised for lack of power game I wonder what will they make of Saud and Salman 😀.

I bet people will come up with new names after Salman and Saud fail.

I agree Babar is not a good captain but as batsman alone he's not going anywhere until he decides to retire
During the last 3 ICC events Babar is on the same level as average players, he has been nothing special. To play at his number and returning the figures he has had is not acceptable. I am sure a player like Saud (who is a copy of Babar in some ways) would have done better.

The issue I have with Babar is that some (Pak) fans act as if he is top tier, which he clearly is not. For Pak standards which part on him are low, he can indeed play on.
 
Zain is right about the unequal opportunities within PCB selection. Any players with backing of franchises get selected in the team easily while talented but relatively unknown performers get ignored easily.
 
Babar has been pathetic over the past 2 years, needs to go back to domestic cricket to work on his fitness and form... Not really good enough to play International cricket...

Not to mention, one of the worst captains Pakistan have had...

It is quite shameful that Pakistan cricket fans keep marketing him despite zero "0" match winning performances in the last 2 years...
 
He gets way too much criticism. If Babar is still one of the best players in the team, he isn’t the problem. Babar has been our most consistent performing batsman in the last decade. It’s ok to criticism, but it does get overboard. People expect the best players to make up for the worse players/deadwood. The two performing batsmen should make up for the other five. This is the problem as it doesn’t work. You can’t even properly compare Pakistani batsmen performance with foreign teams, as the foreign batsman are playing in teams where near the whole line up are good players. And again whether Babar is better or not than foreign batsmen means little, as we can’t get those foreign batsmen to play for us.

The best thing is to not get over emotional about it, and keep just trying to fix the bad players in the team. Keep trying out players. Once Babar is no longer the best batsman/ around the best and all the other batsmen have caught up, then it is easier to look at Babar for faults.

The best thing for Babar IMO is to play him as a no.3 batsmen. We have no one else capable of playing there, and Babar does well there. And just frankly forget about him there, his place isn’t under threat, let him play there without pressure and without captaincy. Then focus on trying to find some good players to bat around him.
 
Zain is right about the unequal opportunities within PCB selection. Any players with backing of franchises get selected in the team easily while talented but relatively unknown performers get ignored easily.
Yes, he is right here and it has been a norm in PCB setup. The whole world can see the problems in this system but PCB is just working like a deaf and blind child who is incapable of doing anything and is ignoring the whole world.
 
Babar will get criticism when he doesn't do well - he should not be treated any differently.
 
Babar will get criticism when he doesn't do well - he should not be treated any differently.
But he is different, with all his records comparisons to past greats like Bradman and connections he is enroute to potential sainthood lol
 
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