[PICTURES] A message for Babar Azam and his fans: Focus on ODIs and retire from Test and T20I

[zaidihusain]

Some new narratives are being played on some media channels and social media:

1. Babar's position shouldn't have been changed; he is a no. 1 batter while playing at no. 3. The fact is there is not much difference in opening and playing one down in ODIs. Babar being a most experienced player must adjust to the team's requirement. I also believe that there has to be a proper opener in place of Saim but that doesn't mean Babar cannot perform as an opener

2. Saim's injury before CT is really unfortunate but that doesn't mean Pakistan cannot win without him. The team's performance should not be dependent on 1 or 2 players, others must step up and perform

 

[RizwanT20Champ]

What stands out about Babar is he is selfless and puts team about self which is not typical for a Pak/SC cricketer. He's in bad form but just for the team he moved up to open. I would love to know in which other team arguably the best ODI number 3 going around (full career not current form) would sacrifice his position to open for the team despite bad form.

 

[BouncerGuy]

PCB trying to fix something that is not broken..

 

[mominsaigol]

New message for babar fans, drop him back to no 3 or drop him altogether

 

[heddie19]

New message for babar fans, drop him back to no 3 or drop him altogether

Which Babar fan endorsed his opening in ODI anyway?

 

[mominsaigol]

Which Babar fan endorsed his opening in ODI anyway?

I did but I'm not a fan, u endorsed his opening cause it's an easier position then no 3 and he was flunking at 3.

Babar is out of form plain and simple. You may shuffle him across the board 7 ways to Sunday but he's put of form and isn't kicking off at any no atm. So fingers crossed for CT

 

[mominsaigol]

Babar Azam's avg has fallen to 55 in odi but rizwan's increased to 42

 

[ads101]

Opening position is a big worry. Babar hasn’t performed as an opener yet and we will be going into the tournament with an opener who has not performed as an opener yet whether Babar plays or Saud plays.

I think we have no choice but to put Babar down to three and let Saud open. We’re already taking a risk with the opener regardless, and I don’t think we can also play a no.3 who hasn’t had international performances there too.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Babar should return to number 3 for the next game but TBH him and fakhar is a dangerous pair if they click together. But babar is out of form so this is big risk

 

[BouncerGuy]

Mohammad Rizwan shared following thoughts in his post-match presser:

Expectations from Babar Azam and the current poor form

"Allah has endowed Babar with immense talent. He has significantly contributed as a player for Pakistan,I hold similar expectations for him because of his God-given talent. It seems he needs to alleviate some pressure from these expectations. However, he might not be experiencing the best of luck lately. There's nothing wrong with Babar Azam; he's scored many runs for Pakistan in the past, leading us to expect centuries from him regularly. This pressure is likely affecting him too. I hope he finds more luck moving forward; he is our champion batsman. Today, you could see Babar's remarkable confidence."

 

[volcyz]

Getting Inzamam's extremely religious cult vibes from Rizwans tenure with the way he keeps bringing religion into performance of the team

 

[BouncerGuy]

Getting Inzamam's extremely religious cult vibes from Rizwans tenure with the way he keeps bringing religion into performance of the team

what did he said wrong??

 

[volcyz]

what did he said wrong??

He's been insuniating Allah's the one making them get centuries etc, all these runs they are scoring, wickets they are taking, wins etc... all from divine intervention.

 

[BouncerGuy]

He's been insuniating Allah's the one making them get centuries etc, all these runs they are scoring, wickets they are taking, wins etc... all from divine intervention.

You should not be making comments about anyone's faith. That is his personal thing..

Anyways, babar needs to score runs and this is what everybody is looking for.

 

[volcyz]

You should not be making comments about anyone's faith. That is his personal thing..

Anyways, babar needs to score runs and this is what everybody is looking for.

I am just saying it's feeling similar to what Inzamam was doing during his tenure when everyone started growing beards and Yousuf Youhana was converted, while Danesh Kaneria was discarded.

 

[heddie19]

I did but I'm not a fan, u endorsed his opening cause it's an easier position then no 3 and he was flunking at 3.

Babar is out of form plain and simple. You may shuffle him across the board 7 ways to Sunday but he's put of form and isn't kicking off at any no atm. So fingers crossed for CT

play him at no. 3 and he will score a ton within 3 innings

 

[gazza619]

The message is in the OP. If I was babar, I'd retire from the test and t20 format.

Amazing advice to retire from the formats that have a bright future and be available for a format that is slowly becoming dormant

 

[mominsaigol]

Amazing advice to retire from the formats that have a bright future and be available for a format that is slowly becoming dormant

Yes cause the advise is for Babar to quit plain and simple

 

[BouncerGuy]

Yes cause the advise is for Babar to quit plain and simple

The day babar retires, you would be the happiest person alive I guess..

 

[mominsaigol]

The day babar retires, you would be the happiest person alive I guess..

Mate I'm willing to give rizwan a pass in odi because since he's become captain he avg 63 in odi's, has captained Pakistan to series win in aus ans sa etc etc and tbf, he's been > his replacements like usman, Saud at 4, KG etc etc.

I hate rizzu for t20 but it's whatever and it's irrelevant as it's odi season atm.

But Babar is inexcusable. It's coming to the point that even his die hard fans can't support him anymore. His avg in odi dropped from 61 to 55, in tests from 49 to 42 and in t20 from 49 to 39.

This is just a drop, if you actually look at his year by year avg, he's been avg 20+ in tests for a while now, 32+ in t20 with a hilariously bad strike rate and in odi somewhere from 38 to 46 depending on conditons.

This is absolutely pathetic and it has been going for 3 years now.

How much more time do you need?

Have saim and Fakhar be openers full time but sadly fakhar's time is running out due to age. And as for no 3, maybe give saud a few more games but since he and KG aren't performing i wouldn't mind if they got the axe as well.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Mate I'm willing to give rizwan a pass in odi because since he's become captain he avg 63 in odi's, has captained Pakistan to series win in aus ans sa etc etc and tbf, he's been > his replacements like usman, Saud at 4, KG etc etc.

I hate rizzu for t20 but it's whatever and it's irrelevant as it's odi season atm.

But Babar is inexcusable. It's coming to the point that even his die hard fans can't support him anymore. His avg in odi dropped from 61 to 55, in tests from 49 to 42 and in t20 from 49 to 39.

This is just a drop, if you actually look at his year by year avg, he's been avg 20+ in tests for a while now, 32+ in t20 with a hilariously bad strike rate and in odi somewhere from 38 to 46 depending on conditons.

This is absolutely pathetic and it has been going for 3 years now.

How much more time do you need?

Have saim and Fakhar be openers full time but sadly fakhar's time is running out due to age. And as for no 3, maybe give saud a few more games but since he and KG aren't performing i wouldn't mind if they got the axe as well.

With this kind of form, he should be dropped... time's up.

 

[Golu-momin]

babar azam both should be retired now they have done a great service to fans.

 

[BouncerGuy]

He should have been the fastest one but still on top.

 

[Mesozoic]

He should have been the fastest one but still on top.

Lmao look at that top 3.

Brothers are all grade A soft run machine stat-padders who have done nothing major to win their teams big titles.

 

[mominsaigol]

Lmao look at that top 3.

Brothers are all grade A soft run machine stat-padders who have done nothing major to win their teams big titles.

Virat kohli is a soft run machine?

 

[BouncerGuy]

I think this opening experiment has failed badly. If saud is playing every game, he should open else Play usman and put babar back to his original place and let's see what he brings... SO far, opening is not working

 

[Mesozoic]

Virat kohli is a soft run machine?

Yes. In ODIs he is.

Failed miserably in almost all ICC ODI knockouts except the 2023 SF against New Zealand.

Heck even in that game, he got saved by Shreyas' fearless knock or else we would have settled for 340 and NZ would have chased it down easily.

 

[Mesozoic]

And having said that Babar Azam is an even bigger conman in ODI cricket history.

All this guy has ever done is score utterly forgettable soft hundreds against mediocre bowling attacks on flat roads and his fans somehow believe that he is an ATG lmao. He is basically a degraded version of Hashim Amla minus Hash's Test batting credentials.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Babar seems done and dusted. he's no longer delivering top-class performances

https://twitter.com/x/status/1890353208247157159

 

[Hitman]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1890344488641364366

 

[RizwanT20Champ]

Yes. In ODIs he is.

Failed miserably in almost all ICC ODI knockouts except the 2023 SF against New Zealand.

Heck even in that game, he got saved by Shreyas' fearless knock or else we would have settled for 340 and NZ would have chased it down easily.

Ultimate Game

 

[ads101]

On the bright side, he’s getting starts but he’s not converting. He doesn’t look in terrible form. Hopefully he gets the big score in the tournament. But I’d have liked even one good knock leading up to the tournament with his chances and he hasn’t got it.

Saud on the other hand has gone the other way. He genuinely looked in good touch in Odis batting down the order and just throwing it away. Up the order he hasn’t looked great but it’s been a very small sample size.

 

[Mesozoic]

On the bright side, he’s getting starts but he’s not converting. He doesn’t look in terrible form

That's an even more ominous sign. That usually means that the player has lost his ability to concentrate for longer durations and play big knocks.

Form may come and go...but the ability to occupy the crease for long durations is a habit and once you lose it, it's very hard to attain it back. Ponting from 2008-12 was the biggest example of this.

 

[Devadwal]

PCB was using term Fab 5 in Odis just to keep relevant babar azam

 

[BouncerGuy]

PCB was using term Fab 5 in Odis just to keep relevant babar azam

View attachment 150805

It is not just PCB who uses this term. Look at the record, he deserved that term anyways..
He is out of form and to scoring runs that is true but he has got number to back this fab 5 status.

I hope he comes good in CT otherwise this should be his last event before he gets dropped and sent back to domestics to regain his form and work on this issues.

 

[Hitman]

It is not just PCB who uses this term. Look at the record, he deserved that term anyways..
He is out of form and to scoring runs that is true but he has got number to back this fab 5 status.

I hope he comes good in CT otherwise this should be his last event before he gets dropped and sent back to domestics to regain his form and work on this issues.

He will not be dropped for a prolonged period. PCB has invested way too much on him and has been hellbent on making him a brand.

 

[BouncerGuy]

He will not be dropped for a prolonged period. PCB has invested way too much on him and has been hellbent on making him a brand.

Babar is already a brand. He is too popular atm. His fanbase is huge... But the thing is, he needs to back his place in the team with performances which is missing so far.

 

[kingusama92]

Averaging 17.60 in 5 matches as opener now.