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"Give 50 balls to Gayle, Kohli or Markram, what will they do & what did Babar do?" : Shoaib Akhtar

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"Give 50 balls to Gayle, Kohli or Markram, what will they do & what did Babar do?" : Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar on Babar innings:

"Our batsmen need to think whether their style of batting and strike-rate is good enough for this format. If you give 50 balls to Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli or Aiden Markram, what will they do and what did Babar do?"

"Babar is a great player but 50 runs off 50 balls, is not good enough. You can’t go into your shell if wickets are falling at the other end. Babar can compare his innings to Aiden Markram’s innings. Wickets were also falling when Markram was batting but he still continued to play his attacking cricket and scored 54 from 30. Babar is a star player so he needs to come forward and play attacking cricket"
 
And now Shoaib Akhtar will make sense to the world...
 
Quite a weird comparison, especially the names he mentioned. Gayle is a different kind of player to Kohli, Babar or Markram.
 
He makes a reasonable point. For any great T20 player, 50 off 50 is just simply too slow. Especially on a flat wicket against a second string bowling attack. There's no way to really justify the innings, and he rightfully deserves criticism.
 
only fools with no knowledge of cricket will make these stupid comparisons between babar and less reliable power hitters. BA is a old school thinking batsman in category of Mohammad Yusuf, Hashim Amla etc.

He will score run a ball innings scoring lots of international runs in his career taking difficult bowlers head on (remember him vs Dale Steyn). His category is different from rest.
 
The excuse for Babar playing slowly is that we have a weak middle order. Well South Africa have a weak middle order,Andile Phehlukwayo is batting at 7 . Yet Markham was attacking and being positive.
 
Shoaib: “Babar should watch (learn) from Markram”

Aqib Javed: “Kohli should learn from Babar”

Markram>>>>Babar>>>>Kohli
 
This is dumb statement. Babar is more like Amla, Root, Rahane etc. He plays classical cricket with good looking proper shots. He doesn’t have the game for power hitting. He is not someone who can chase 360 in ODIs or 220 in T20s. Babar is scoring runs consistently across all formats. There are 5 other batsman in the team. It’s time, fans start holding others accountable too.
 
Rohan said:
Shoaib: “Babar should watch (learn) from Markram”

Aqib Javed: “Kohli should learn from Babar”

Markram>>>>Babar>>>>Kohli
Click to expand...

So there we go.

Kohli should learn a thing or two from Aiden Markram.
 
Babar cant be Gayle.

Let Babar be Babar. The reason for our failure in the previous T20 was not Babar. It was the 5/6 other batsmen who just came for a free meal.

Yes Babar needs to be a bit more aggressive but it would be disaster if Babar tries to play a totally different game.
 
Last edited:
Cric_lover4487 said:
This is dumb statement. Babar is more like Amla, Root, Rahane etc. He plays classical cricket with good looking proper shots. He doesn’t have the game for power hitting. He is not someone who can chase 360 in ODIs or 220 in T20s. Babar is scoring runs consistently across all formats. There are 5 other batsman in the team. It’s time, fans start holding others accountable too.
Click to expand...

Amla, Root and .... Rahane ? :sm:misbah:sangry:genius
 
Not often I agree with Akhtar, but he is spot on here. Babar’s innings was pathetic.
 
another stupid comment from our resident clown Actor sahib. he really needs to stop running his mouth.

Babar should have accelerated no doubt but were the rest sleeping? Babar isnt superman and does need help from the other end or should we just load the team with bowlers and rely completely on Babar for our batting?? (that would be a hilarious lineup though.lol)
 
Shoaib makes perfect sense here.

In T20, you can't be in 2 minds. What Pakistan did was two things:

1. Over confident against a depleted SA side - so decided to attack and be 'aggressive'.
2. When 2 wickets got down, which was not in the plan, Pakistan rapidly moved to plan B which wasn't really expected due to the over confidence.

The number one rule for T20 is to not ever be caught in 2 minds. Morgan is clear as captain. See ball, hit ball. It works for him.

With Misbah and Babar in the think tank, Pakistan is better off not having Morgan's strategy because their natural instinct is to preserve. At least it helps win some games.

By the way, I do think Pakistan can play see ball, hit ball with the same resources. Afterall, Morgan took almost the same team and transformed its mindset. But I just don't see that happening under current management.
 
Its like asking Akhtar to bowl like M Asif. Can he, no sir he certainly cannot!
 
I think Babar is in same league to Manish Pandey in T20s, although the latter is obviously a better fielder.
 
Better for long term health of Pak cricket that Babar improves his ability in longer format. His lack of hacking ability in T20 format is not that important and might even detract from his overall game should he try to modify his approach to be something that he clearly is not. In fact an argument can be made that Babar Azam's workload in T20 should be managed so that he gets a chance to be at his best during high profile series/events. Intl cricket is tough at the best off times and being a captain and top order batsman in a weak batting lineup might put undue pressure on him and lead to less consistent performance.
 
This is Shoaib's response to Aquib's comment yesterday. Grab your popcorn!!
 
MesonK said:
kohli averages 29 in his last 10 tests ... just saying
Click to expand...

You are wrong....just saying.

Kohli avgs 44 (which is Babar's career avg) in last 10 tests. Also he didnt got a chance to bat in 5 innings in those last 10 tests.

Below are his total scores in both innings (starting from latest test):

0
27
62
83
78
17
21
136
0
12

Total runs = 436
Avg = 43.6

Also, I know why you intentonally restricted to just 10 tests because he has a double ton on 11th one :))

Virat Kohli is a great batsman bro. I know there is a concerted effort going on from certain section to somehow put Babar ahead but its too early.
 
Having played that long in cricket, Akthar is unable to understand the difference between the ability of players. This is why T20 specialists even exist. Malan is an example. Very few batsmen have the ability to adjust to each format perfectly. Kohli is an exception. Probably the only batsman who can play all three formats in the best possible way equally. Even Williamson, Smith are not exactly big six hitters in the T20 format. It is Guptill, Serfati, Aaron Finch that hitting soaring sixes for NZ, Aus, not Kane.
 
Akhtar is a terrible analyst just like 95% Pakistani ex-cricketers. When I hear him or a some of the other ex-cricketers talk one gets the impression that they are talking just for the sake of staying relevant. Which means from time to time they have to make unpopular, headline making statements.
 
Babar doesnt have the power game. He cant destroy the bowling attack of the opposition. Virat is also not known for power game but he makes it up with his wide range of shots, picking gaps, converting one into two's and two's into three. And sometimes he plays like a maniac too. Remember the innings when India chased 190 odd against WI in a home series in 2019 when he scored 94 not out off 50 balls. The comparison of Babar with Kohil is ridiculous. Babar doesnt have the impact which Kohli has on a game. Kohli can shift gear anytime. Thats the hallmark of a great player.
 
Don't always agree with Shoaib Akhtar. But on this occasion he's right. If you look at how Markram, who is also an opener and Kohli, who is also an accumulator - they would show a lot more intent that what we saw from the overrated Babar Azam.

If this was an innings played from Misbah, everyone would lose their minds - and rightly so! Babar should be not be exempt from criticism.
 
Last edited:
jnaveen1980 said:
Having played that long in cricket, Akthar is unable to understand the difference between the ability of players. This is why T20 specialists even exist. Malan is an example. Very few batsmen have the ability to adjust to each format perfectly. Kohli is an exception. Probably the only batsman who can play all three formats in the best possible way equally. Even Williamson, Smith are not exactly big six hitters in the T20 format. It is Guptill, Serfati, Aaron Finch that hitting soaring sixes for NZ, Aus, not Kane.
Click to expand...

+1
Why always Babar? There are 5 more batsman in the team. Why Babar has to do all?
Give blazing start in powerplay, anchor the innings in middle overs, go all guns blazing in death overs and also most importantly stay not out and finish the game. Like really guys??
 
He has a different role.
Batsmen like Gayle should be compared with Fakhar, Sharjeel, Haider, etc.
 
He has a point Like most posters have said 50 off 50 will more times than not result in a 140 max score

Thats not enough in this day and age and will result in the match being lost

Its no excuse that wickets were falling He shouldve kept going and got a 35 ball 50

Pakistan shouldve got at least 160 yday which not enough but wouldve made more of a game of it
 
50 off 50 is unacceptable, but Babar isn't a Gayle, Finch or Buttler type player.

His career strike rate in T20Is so far has been 128 which equates to about 64 off 50 balls.

To compare him with Gayle is just ridiculous.
 
MesonK said:
only fools with no knowledge of cricket will make these stupid comparisons between babar and less reliable power hitters. BA is a old school thinking batsman in category of Mohammad Yusuf, Hashim Amla etc.

He will score run a ball innings scoring lots of international runs in his career taking difficult bowlers head on (remember him vs Dale Steyn). His category is different from rest.
Click to expand...

He just turned 27, I think if he can work on strength conditioning and improve his slogging abilities then he could be a force in 20/20
 
Pakistan should not try to replicate Ind,Eng,Aus etc. they don’t have that kind of firepower with the bat. Where Pakistan can somewhat compete with these top sides is with the ball.

So Pakistan’s best bet is to play your top 4 best bats Babar,Rizwan,Fakhar and Hafeez and pack the side with bowlers who can slog like Hassan Ali. They should aim to get to 140-160 every game and may be hope Hafeez or Fakhar have one of those days to may be get you guys even more and then go allout with the express fast bowlers and talented spinners and destroy the opposition. Remember India, England,Australia are all capable crumbling under the pressure batting 2nd.

Chasing obviously Vice versa, keep the team to a sub par score and then let Rizwan and Babar do their thing.

maximize what you have instead of trying to be
like someone else, is it that complicated?

Boring to watch? Sure but trust me this is when Pakistan becomes a dangerous side. Only difference is back in the day the Pakistani bowlers were lot more exciting to watch but this is Pakistan’s winning template to WT20 2021 right there. You guys can thank me later.

*just to add you need good fielding to back up bowling so please drop guys who look like they are playing Sunday club cricket in the local park.
 
has dhoni, kohli and russel not played any slow innings in any games?...babar was holding down the fort while wickets were falling from the other end. yes he did not accelerate but he has accelerated on other occasions when the wickets are not falling on the other end.. you cannot do a comparison of the players.. babar is a class player.. and pakistan should thank their lucky stars we have a player like him instead of critisisi him every time he has an off day. there aree othr players who do not perform
 
da_don said:
has dhoni, kohli and russel not played any slow innings in any games?.
Click to expand...

Many batsmen sure do, but I guess Babar plays slow more often and gets criticized for that.

Last 4 years - slowest 8 batting with 40+ scores - Half of them by Babar

.
4 years.jpg

Some reasons can be always found, but a single batsman occupying half of the 8 slowest 40+ scores in the last 4 years is going to get some attention.
 
Rohan said:
Bhai, I was just kidding.
Click to expand...

No problem man. Peace!

Cric_lover4487 said:
I meant technique wise not in terms of class. Obviously, Root and Amla are a step ahead of Rahane.
Click to expand...

You could have said Root, Yusuf, Amla may be.

Indiafan said:
And Bradman scored 0 in his last test the worst batsman ever. Just saying...
Click to expand...

there is massive difference between having one bad day vs getting failed for two consecutive years having legendary average of 29 in last 15 innings

kF0YebT.png






Rajdeep said:
You are wrong....just saying.

Kohli avgs 44 (which is Babar's career avg) in last 10 tests. Also he didnt got a chance to bat in 5 innings in those last 10 tests.

Below are his total scores in both innings (starting from latest test):

0
27
62
83
78
17
21
136
0
12

Total runs = 436
Avg = 43.6

Also, I know why you intentonally restricted to just 10 tests because he has a double ton on 11th one :))

Virat Kohli is a great batsman bro. I know there is a concerted effort going on from certain section to somehow put Babar ahead but its too early.
Click to expand...

Stats matter ... Words do not ...

10 matches ... 15 innings, legendary average of 29 and counting. :shhh

kF0YebT.png
 
Buffet said:
Many batsmen sure do, but I guess Babar plays slow more often and gets criticized for that.

Last 4 years - slowest 8 batting with 40+ scores - Half of them by Babar

.
View attachment 108621

Some reasons can be always found, but a single batsman occupying half of the 8 slowest 40+ scores in the last 4 years is going to get some attention.
Click to expand...

Interesting stat, Its time babar need to improve is s/r.
 
Local.Dada said:
Pakistan should not try to replicate Ind,Eng,Aus etc. they don’t have that kind of firepower with the bat. Where Pakistan can somewhat compete with these top sides is with the ball.

So Pakistan’s best bet is to play your top 4 best bats Babar,Rizwan,Fakhar and Hafeez and pack the side with bowlers who can slog like Hassan Ali. They should aim to get to 140-160 every game and may be hope Hafeez or Fakhar have one of those days to may be get you guys even more and then go allout with the express fast bowlers and talented spinners and destroy the opposition. Remember India, England,Australia are all capable crumbling under the pressure batting 2nd.

Chasing obviously Vice versa, keep the team to a sub par score and then let Rizwan and Babar do their thing.

maximize what you have instead of trying to be
like someone else, is it that complicated?

Boring to watch? Sure but trust me this is when Pakistan becomes a dangerous side. Only difference is back in the day the Pakistani bowlers were lot more exciting to watch but this is Pakistan’s winning template to WT20 2021 right there. You guys can thank me later.

*just to add you need good fielding to back up bowling so please drop guys who look like they are playing Sunday club cricket in the local park.
Click to expand...

Except our bowling is mediocre, the days of Pakistan defending low totals in white ball cricket is long gone especially without reverse swing or world-class spinners.
 
MenInG said:
Shoaib Akhtar on Babar innings:

"Our batsmen need to think whether their style of batting and strike-rate is good enough for this format. If you give 50 balls to Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli or Aiden Markram, what will they do and what did Babar do?"

"Babar is a great player but 50 runs off 50 balls, is not good enough. You can’t go into your shell if wickets are falling at the other end. Babar can compare his innings to Aiden Markram’s innings. Wickets were also falling when Markram was batting but he still continued to play his attacking cricket and scored 54 from 30. Babar is a star player so he needs to come forward and play attacking cricket"
Click to expand...

I sort of agree and don’t agree.
In the general T20 environment, there is a big difference of a strike of 100 when you have scored 5 runs off of 5 balls vs a 50 runs off of 50 balls.
Big, big difference.

However, this particular innings by Barber could be somewhat of an outlier because the counter argument is: someone had to try to stabilize the entire team’s batting innings when rest of 10 batsmen can’t even score 100 runs COMBINED!
 
He is spot on! Babar was woefully slow and he did not show any intent to up the ante. This is the reason that Kohli would always be a superior player than Babar because Kohli can shift gears, smash the ball and tear apart the opposition. Babar needs to do a lot to learn the art of hitting big, strong strikes.
 
That was a bad innings from Babar but not the end of the world.
Gayle has played lot worst innings than that.
That can't even be called some analysis by Akhtar, it's just some random statements after being disappointed of loosing the match.
 
Wow, egg on Shoaib's face in the very next game!

Babar 53* (29)
 
Talk Nah Akhtar!?

Babar in amazing form at the moment.
 
Shoaib akhtar should just shut up. An absolute fool with useless opinions. Get a life.
 
Poor Shoaib. His comments could not have aged worse :)))

Give Babar 50 balls? He's just hit them for 104
 
I mean there is a point and a discussion to be had about Babar's second gear and SR at times, but it's a great time to post this meme:

images (9).jpg
 
Thank God for that outburst of emotion. Needed to show he has a presence about him, instead of being a timid pushover. Long way to go beta, keep at it.

Same mentality whenever establishment / management / coaches step out of their line.
 
Mark of a great cricketer is how they respond to criticism. Brian Lara after a miserable winter in South Africa in 1998 produced some of the best Test innings in the following series vs Australia in 1999.

Not comparing Babar's knock with that, and yes the SAF bowling was bad, but you still gotta hit them.

I hope he bottles this innings and channels this mindset going forward.
 
Would be interesting to see what will Akhtar say today. I expect him to give credit to himself for Babar's inning. :inti
 
On a second thought, i wouldnt hate on Shabby too much. He did say that Babar is a star player and he expects him to perform with a high SR when required which he did today.
 
Wow talk about letting your bat do the talking

Hes shut everyone right up :babar :shhh
 
Give 50 balls to markram and he will fall short by 30 40 runs of babars innings today.
 
see told you Actor is not to be taken seriously. And we had people wanting him in the PCB lol..he'd turn it into a clown circus!!
 
As usual did not take long for shoaib to look like a clown.. How can some of these guys be considered “experts” when they talk rubbish.. no insight just full of self praise
 
Wt load of crap from shoaib right now on ptv sports....be a man n except that ur wrong.

He played his game hit 14 fours n four sixes. It was risk free cricket.
 
Wow, reading the comments you’d think Babar was up against Rabada Ngidi and Nortje😆. Embarrassing from our fan base.
 
This is the problem with Media and fans that we react so strongly with a loss here and there. Be patient and results will come.
 
YousafTheBeast said:
Wow, reading the comments you’d think Babar was up against Rabada Ngidi and Nortje��. Embarrassing from our fan base.
Click to expand...

Regardless of the bowling attack a t20 century on the international stage deserves a lot of credit, how many other batsmen have this?

Whats more embarrassing is our fans who cant help but criticize our own at every oppurtunity.
 
YousafTheBeast said:
Wow, reading the comments you’d think Babar was up against Rabada Ngidi and Nortje��. Embarrassing from our fan base.
Click to expand...

Babar smashed Rabada ngidi nortje during one of most beautiful knocks u'll ever see in an ODI. SA commentators were awestruck
 
Fahdi said:
I mean there is a point and a discussion to be had about Babar's second gear and SR at times, but it's a great time to post this meme:

View attachment 108636
Click to expand...

I won't be surprised if Babar actually took it personally
That's the attitude of an elite player

Taking it personally! :bobs
 
YousafTheBeast said:
Wow, reading the comments you’d think Babar was up against Rabada Ngidi and Nortje��. Embarrassing from our fan base.
Click to expand...

If CSA is fine and they don't want to play for their country ........to babar aur hum kya karein......aaye hai duniya kitna zulmi hai
 
silentkiller187 said:
Regardless of the bowling attack a t20 century on the international stage deserves a lot of credit, how many other batsmen have this?

Whats more embarrassing is our fans who cant help but criticize our own at every oppurtunity.
Click to expand...

Sure it deserves a lot of credit but everyone’s talking as if no other player has scored a T20 century. There’s people on this forum that are calling it an ATG innings in T20, seriously? IF today’s bowling attack consisted of Rabada, Ngidi and Nortje, would Babar Azam make a 100 off 49, nope.

This innings will only hide Babar’s flaws in T20. If it was any other team, they’d have rested their best players, sadly Pakistan can’t do that.
 
naseem said:
If CSA is fine and they don't want to play for their country ........to babar aur hum kya karein......aaye hai duniya kitna zulmi hai
Click to expand...

Praise Babar all you want, but please refrain from calling it the best innings a Pakistani has played in T20 history. These games against B teams should not be taken so seriously, even Asif Ali would’ve scored a century with the way SA were bowling today.
 
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