Is Babar Azam going down the Umar Akmal route?

[big_gamer007]

He is young people forget kohli debuted in 2008 I think and till 2013 he was an average player.. He was a youngster so for his age he was good but overall compare to settled players he was average.. From 2013 onwards he just lifted his game to 10 levels higher..

What he improved more was his fitness, he can take quick singles and doubles which keeps the scoreboard ticking and never lets pressure build up.. LOI’s is not just about sixes and fours keeping the scoreboard ticking is very important and Kohli working on his fitness is a very important factor in him becoming best batsmen due to his ability to keep strike rotating.

Secondly he improves his gap finding ability, he is still not a power hitter like Gayle but he can find gaps at ease when in full flow.. If you can find gaps and hit fours you don’t really need a power game to Be successful and Kohli proved that..

Bahar is 24 now and it took kohli 5 years to improve the above two points so ideally Babar should have started working on his aspects already when he was 20 years old if he wanted to be the best.. But since he has not worked on it he will at max become a good Pakistani batsmen but never a top player.

 

[waleed88]

He is still developing.. why can’t he be the next Inzi for us in the future?

Well these days either you have the ability to chase a big total or you don't. Babar seems to be one of the latters. Those that plays for themselves rather than the team.

And by big totals I mean chasing 300s on a consistent basis in all conditions...

 

[babajee]

Well these days either you have the ability to chase a big total or you don't. Babar seems to be one of the latters. Those that plays for themselves rather than the team.

And by big totals I mean chasing 300s on a consistent basis in all conditions...

The only batsman I know who consistently chases 300s by himself is Virat Kohli.

It’s a team game... if Babar can score a 100(110) innings whilst chasing 300 it leaves the rest of the batsmen to score 200(190).

 

[rhony]

The only batsman I know who consistently chases 300s by himself is Virat Kohli.

It’s a team game... if Babar can score a 100(110) innings whilst chasing 300 it leaves the rest of the batsmen to score 200(190).

True but Tendlya was criticized a lot for the same reason. People said he knew how to score runs but didn't know how to win games.

 

[shariqnoor]

The only batsman I know who consistently chases 300s by himself is Virat Kohli.

It’s a team game... if Babar can score a 100(110) innings whilst chasing 300 it leaves the rest of the batsmen to score 200(190).

If you're chasing 300, and Babar scores a 100(110), that's a good innings. But if you're chasing 350+ and you score a 100(110), then that's being selfish especially if you don't accelerate after your 60th or 70th delivery.

 

[babajee]

If you're chasing 300, and Babar scores a 100(110), that's a good innings. But if you're chasing 350+ and you score a 100(110), then that's being selfish especially if you don't accelerate after your 60th or 70th delivery.

Babar is not capable as of yet to score a 100(80) against a top bowling attack in ODI. I wouldn’t call it selfish it’s just lack of ability at this stage. Maybe in the future he will be able to.

 

[WengerOut]

It is not a problem if Babar is not a power player. You need to have some other power player in company with him. But the problem comes when he can't rotate the strike like the chase against Aus. While Sharjeel was going hammer and tonks , Babar was meandering around 60. When chasing a 350+ score , that is criminal. For all Sharjeel exploits , when he got out , the run rate was still only 6 . Babar killed all the momentum there . Then he accelerated after the match was dead as a competition. He need not be a power player but he should be a busy one.

 

[shariqnoor]

Babar's incomplete bat swing is an impediment in him hitting big shots consistently. Whenever Babar tries to hit, his bat swing is at best semi-circular whereas if you look at the likes of Rohit Sharma and Kohli, their bat swing is almost full circle (starts from the shoulder and ends up over the shoulder). No wonder Babar is very good at on-drives and cover drives but struggles to up the tempo because he doesn't adjust his bat-swing as his innings progresses. Heck he could even learn from Mushfiqur Rahim. Small guy but packs a lot of punch.

 

[Syed1]

I feel like Babar may not go down the Umar Akmal road of narcissism but he thinks he is some world class batsman who has achieved it all. You can see it in his demeanor and the way he carries himself. The mark of a champion sportsman is his humility. Ever listen to Federer or Sachin speak. They will always point out their own mistakes and areas of improvement or say they have much left to achieve. The problem with Shehzad and Akmal types is that they hit a couple of crisp shots and then they think they are the best thing since sliced bread. I see that same trait in Babar.

Bobby has been playing international cricket for four years now and he is getting out in the same fashion time and again and he is displaying the same habits of getting bogged down and not able to score quick enough. Keep in mind in cricket you have to constantly improve and evolve, and if you sit on your laurels you get left behind. Heck "kal ka bacha" Talat looks a ten times better prospect than international star Babar Azam.

 

[babajee]

The problem with Shehzad and Akmal types is that they hit a couple of crisp shots and then they think they are the best thing since sliced bread. I see that same trait in Babar.

Really? I see him as quite a timid character, more in the Azhar/Asad mould.

 

[babajee]

Yes

 

[Saj]

Well the shot today was definitely Umar Akmalesque

Awful.

 

[waleed88]

The only batsman I know who consistently chases 300s by himself is Virat Kohli.

It’s a team game... if Babar can score a 100(110) innings whilst chasing 300 it leaves the rest of the batsmen to score 200(190).

Babar never has in almost 3 years, or never will be a good chaser. He has never even scored a decent fifty in a big run chase

 

[deems]

Definitely a bottle!
He's a stats guy, comes accross as 'ive scored my share for the match/tournament guy'. Just needs to turn up on big occasions. Can't finish matches either.
However it's not Doom and gloom. He's young and will come of age soon.

 

[Smudger]

All of you are such losers. Baber only got to play 2 balls. If he had played 10-15 balls and got out then it would have been a choke. But he just had a bad day. If someone doesnt perform in one game then he becomes a loser, bottler and what not. All these people who criticize players who got to play for
pakistan after years of hard work dont have anything worthwhile on their resume and most of them are losers in real life. People who are successful know that failure is a part of life. Everyone is bound to fail at some point . These losers think that players are somekind of super humans who will never fail . Have a look at kohli ab or sachin. They faileed 2-3 times in finals and theybecame chokers and useless .The truth is these people satisfy themselves by underminig others

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

honestly, I get the impression that lot of Pak fans want him to fail just so they can validate their own opinions

In the eyes of these fans you are either a crap or you are world class, there is nothing in between.

 

[SaadAliG]

4 50s in the group stages and Khi lost all those 4 games. Coincidence?

 

[babajee]

4 50s in the group stages and Khi lost all those 4 games. Coincidence?

Going down the Sachin route ?

 

[Abdullah719]

4 50s in the group stages and Khi lost all those 4 games. Coincidence?

Fake news

They won one, tied one (LQ won the Super Over) and lost two.

Out of the two they lost, in one Babar opened the batting and his batting partners in the top 5 made a combined 12 runs off 33 balls in a chase of 182 (Babar made 66 off 50).

The other fifty was the one where he did tuk tuk along with Khurram and KK made ~150 which was easily chased down, that was a rubbish knock to be fair.

 

[giri26]

Babar Azam is a good top order player and his batting style probably suits at the top of the order where he can take his time to kick off an innings. Partnering him with Fakhar will do good for him as he does not need to think about runrate. He is not a hitter and should not be expected to score at break neck speed.

 

[Rayyman]

Fake news

They won one, tied one (LQ won the Super Over) and lost two.

Out of the two they lost, in one Babar opened the batting and his batting partners in the top 5 made a combined 12 runs off 33 balls in a chase of 182 (Babar made 66 off 50).

The other fifty was the one where he did tuk tuk along with Khurram and KK made ~150 which was easily chased down, that was a rubbish knock to be fair.

That was also his first fifty in the PSL. Before that he was out of form. Has improved ever since.

 

[Test champion]

Why people bashing Babar Azam ?? He performed well in ongoing psl.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Be patient. Developing a world class batsman is a long and arduous process. In batting, even when minor improvements are made, they are often not visible to the untrained eye until they all click together.

Sometimes batsmen are challenged in areas they thrive in therefore have to make adjustments to maintain consistency which can stagnate the work being done to improve their weak points.

The consistency Babar is showing is nothing to be scoffed at. In a game of chance(which cricket is), there is no better trait to have.

Sure, Babar at this stage cannot single-handedly dominate a game due to minor technical errors hindering him from opening up but it's not as if he hasn't played at a good rate at all. He's played quite a few T20 knocks at 130-150 SR. He has shown ability to strike the ball when he's maintained shape of his bat throughout the swing. I wish I could show you guys close up footage of his bat twisting at point of contact which leaves him hitting with half a bat. This is due to a light bottom hand grip which is a trait of a top order player because they play on top of the bounce. But cricket nowadays demands adjustment in grips throughout your innings which he obviously hasn't learned.

The Aussies pointed out this flaw almost immediately to Ramiz during analysis. Hopefully he has passed this on to Babar or Mickey.

 

[Pete Rose]

Be patient. Developing a world class batsman is a long and arduous process. In batting, even when minor improvements are made, they are often not visible to the untrained eye until they all click together.

Sometimes batsmen are challenged in areas they thrive in therefore have to make adjustments to maintain consistency which can stagnate the work being done to improve their weak points.

The consistency Babar is showing is nothing to be scoffed at. In a game of chance(which cricket is), there is no better trait to have.

Sure, Babar at this stage cannot single-handedly dominate a game due to minor technical errors hindering him from opening up but it's not as if he hasn't played at a good rate at all. He's played quite a few T20 knocks at 130-150 SR. He has shown ability to strike the ball when he's maintained shape of his bat throughout the swing. I wish I could show you guys close up footage of his bat twisting at point of contact which leaves him hitting with half a bat. This is due to a light bottom hand grip which is a trait of a top order player because they play on top of the bounce. But cricket nowadays demands adjustment in grips throughout your innings which he obviously hasn't learned.

The Aussies pointed out this flaw almost immediately to Ramiz during analysis. Hopefully he has passed this on to Babar or Mickey.

He’s a Kallis and we should be ok with that. His glass chin can be seen from outer space

 

[a_tahir]

Is there a chance Babar Azam will go the umar akmal way?

Just looking at babar play it would be such a disappointing thing if babar goes the akmal way. Babar has been a really good find for pakistan. Even with his weaknesses, he is by far pakistan's most consistent and best batsman.
That's why i wanted to ask that is there a chance that babar will go the akmal way or is babar far ahead than u.akmal had ever been in his career.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Not sure if Umar ever reached remotely close to the peak of Babar. What was his highest ranking in all formats, what was highest batting average at any point of his career

 

[Usman Chadda]

No. Completely different skill-sets and temperament is poles apart.

I think people have forgotten how bad Umar had regressed in his later years.

 

[a_tahir]

Not sure if Umar ever reached remotely close to the peak of Babar. What was his highest ranking in all formats, what was highest batting average at any point of his career

Odi: 10
T20i: 8
Test: 29
Don't know about the average

 

[rhony]

Nope. UA is THE "lessons learned" package for Babar. He will continue to be the mainstay of Pak batting for at least a decade from now.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Poles apart.

One is doing everything in his power to become a great of the game, the other wanted greatness to happen to him.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Odi: 10
T20i: 8
Test: 29
Don't know about the average

Not really an inspiring career. In someway Babar is like a mumbai player who takes cares of their career numbers religiously. Not a bad thing. It is complementary. You have to be a bit selfish in cricket to reach greater heights.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/c...ish-batsmen-who-score-the-most-centuries.html

 

[Zaz]

Not sure if you are serious tbh

Babar so far is everything umar wasnt A proper batsmen with good ground strokes And someone who has the hunger and desire for runs

He is hopefully going to go from strength to strength unlike the tullabaaz

 

[The Viper]

Babar has a much better temperament than Akmal ever had. Much better run scorer also. No comparison really.

 

[babajee]

Haha. This thread has served its purpose.

 

[Hyperion66]

Not sure if Umar ever reached remotely close to the peak of Babar. What was his highest ranking in all formats, what was highest batting average at any point of his career

Don't think Umar got as much minnow bashing opportunity as Babar. Umar didn't do too bad considering he performed decently in the tough away matches at the beginning of his career. Was dropped unfairly.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Haha. This thread has served its purpose.

Basically if you want someone to have a great career, just create a thread comparing Umar Akmal lol Would be interesting to know how many Umar Akmal vs XXXXX threads exist.

 

[a_tahir]

Don't think Umar got as much minnow bashing opportunity as Babar. Umar didn't do too bad considering he performed decently in the tough away matches at the beginning of his career. Was dropped unfairly.

Just go on howstat to see for yourself.
Stop trolling players for no reason.

 

[Hyperion66]

Just go on howstat to see for yourself.
Stop trolling players for no reason.

I don't have to look at a spreadsheet or statboard to know that Babar has a much better record compared to Akmal in LOI. All I am saying is Akmal was poorly handled during his rough patch and he didn't have a Zimbabwe to fall back upon. Even after all these hype Babar is yet to play a match winning hundred against top teams. I get that he is 24 and improving but the amount of hype he gets makes you think that he is winning matches and bashing oppositions left, right, center, which is clearly not the case.

 

[a_tahir]

I don't have to look at a spreadsheet or statboard to know that Babar has a much better record compared to Akmal in LOI. All I am saying is Akmal was poorly handled during his rough patch and he didn't have a Zimbabwe to fall back upon. Even after all these hype Babar is yet to play a match winning hundred against top teams. I get that he is 24 and improving but the amount of hype he gets makes you think that he is winning matches and bashing oppositions left, right, center, which is clearly not the case.

I think i know what u are trying to say.
In my opinion the world cup will show how good Babar actually is. Not the benchmark though as greats like Vk didn't do too well in their first world cup. Kohli scored a century (against ban) and only one fifty. So definitely wasn't a great world cup for him

 

[Hyperion66]

I think i know what u are trying to say.
In my opinion the world cup will show how good Babar actually is. Not the benchmark though as greats like Vk didn't do too well in their first world cup. Kohli scored a century (against ban) and only one fifty. So definitely wasn't a great world cup for him

You guys compare Babar with vk all the time then accuse people of trolling for showing the flaws in your comparison. VK was 22 during his first wc and by the age of 24 already considered one of the bests in the world. Babar needs to have a insanely good world cup to be even compared with someone like Kohli.

BTW Babar scored 7 of his 8 centuries against SL, WI and Zim and that too in bilaterals, not sure why would you look down upon Kohli scoring a hundred against Ban in the first match of the WC.

 

[MeanAndGreen]

This thread in itself is a perfect example of how impatient Pakistani fans are with young talent.

Some of the posts were less than 12 months ago. People calling him selfish, uninterested, lazy, mentally weak, etc will now be the same ones hyping him to Pluto.

 

[MeanAndGreen]

To answer the question : there isn't a single aspect of the game where Umar is superior to Babar other than wicketkeeping.

 

[BakuGM]

Babar is 10 times the player UA ever was... Now saying that I do believe we need to stop hyping Babar and hope he continues to grow. No need to compare against anyone but rather against his first 3 years of cricket to his next 3 years. he has the potential to be quite good.

 

[a_tahir]

You guys compare Babar with vk all the time then accuse people of trolling for showing the flaws in your comparison. VK was 22 during his first wc and by the age of 24 already considered one of the bests in the world. Babar needs to have a insanely good world cup to be even compared with someone like Kohli.

BTW Babar scored 7 of his 8 centuries against SL, WI and Zim and that too in bilaterals, not sure why would you look down upon Kohli scoring a hundred against Ban in the first match of the WC.

I'm not comparing mate just read it properly.
I'm saying if babar doesn't have a good wc then that won't mean he isn't a good player. I just used kohli as an example.
Stop getting so triggered for no reason

 

[Hyperion66]

I'm not comparing mate just read it properly.
I'm saying if babar doesn't have a good wc then that won't mean he isn't a good player. I just used kohli as an example.
Stop getting so triggered for no reason

Not triggered bro, not sure what gave you that idea, just having a casual and friendly convo. You are the one accused me of trolling and I am triggered somehow!! I was not specific about you comparing the two rather referring to the general environment of this forum where every single Pakistani batsman has to be compared with Kohli.

 

[UsmanhailsAfridi]

i think the question we should be asking is how great of a batsman Babar would be if he had the supporting cast kohli has had...world class openers to follow and then a modern ODI GOAT in Dhoni to be followed by to take the team home if need be.

Who has filled those roles around Babar? The great Hafeez, Azhar, Malik or Sarfraz? HA!

It makes a great difference knowing that you have a legit supporting cast. As a batsman you can play more freely, you can express yourself. Babar scores 90 in 58 balls, gets out, his team collapses for no reason whatsoever and he gets blamed. Worst gets compared to Umar Akmal, seriously what are people watching if they think there is even a comparison there.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Both are poles apart.
Umer became slogger and had zero temperament.
Other side babar is classy and relay on. His strengths and play in his zone

 

[Junaid_ahmed]

Not sure if you are serious tbh

Babar so far is everything umar wasnt A proper batsmen with good ground strokes And someone who has the hunger and desire for runs

He is hopefully going to go from strength to strength unlike the tullabaaz

I think he was proper batsman having all the shots of book. His problem was his brain. He joined the self destructive afridi group which made him even worse. He is the type of person who never learn from mistakes in fact always find the reason for their shortcomings.

 

[Hasan123]

He will not go down the Umar Akmal route as he is a completely different personality.

 

[hadi123]

Babar Azam has really impressed me on this tour and has been a great positive. I wasn't convinced that he was anything more than a weak team basher but he has been awesome in all 3 formats, now I rate him a lot higher than I did before and I hope he silenced a few of his haters. Couple of things he needs to work on though, is finishing games and also capitalizing on his start, so many times he gets out once set to a very average delivery and that can come back to hurt Pakistan seeing how weak our batting is.

 

[London_Lahori]

Lol at some of the comments on the first page.

 

[Saj]

Babar is a good lad with a good head on his shoulders.

I've met him a few times and he has been polite, respectful and has seemed an intelligent young man.

He'll be fine.

 

[Sirris]

All you have to do is check out Babar's Twitter account. If it resembles Umar Akmal's account, then we should be worried.

 

[gazza619]

Babar is a good lad with a good head on his shoulders.

I've met him a few times and he has been polite, respectful and has seemed an intelligent young man.

He'll be fine.

It will be interesting how he will be now after that amazing SA tour. I bet he would have aged 5 more years in terms of maturity.