[PICTURES] Babar Azam - Minnow basher or the real deal in ODIs?

[Saj]

Here is his average against various countries in ODIs. There still seems to be some uncertainty regarding Babar, despite his superb record:

v Afghanistan 66
v Australia 56.4
v Bangladesh 1
v England 37.37
v Hong Kong 33
v India 27.5
v Ireland 29
v New Zealand 25.14
v Sri Lanka 58.33
v West Indies 102.8
v Zimbabwe 119


in Australia 56.4
in England 31.87
in Ireland 29
in New Zealand 25.14
in Pakistan 54
in Sri Lanka 18.5
in U.A.E. 68.42
in West Indies 77
in Zimbabwe 184

 

[Savak]

I have never really been impressed by him. He doesn't have the body language of a counter puncher and looks at ease in mostly comfortable situations.

 

[babajee]

He will fix that average in England next series. They have a club level attack.

 

[UP]

He looks like getting out on every delivery even if he is playing at 110 - mediocre like his cousins.

 

[Shafi]

Very average player!!!!Don't have much hope.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Maybe he has potential but he has been impactless in almost every game of note.

I don't rate him.

Is a useful batsman for Pakistan but not sure if he will be the star some make him out to be.

 

[Cric_lover4487]

Babar is poor man’s Rahane at best i.e., timid and gutless. He is a selfish player and can only capitalize when Fakhar gives a flying start and opposition is under pressure. His strike rate is below par for a number 3 batsman. I watched his century innings vs Australia. Chasing high score under pressure, rather than matching fire with fire, he threw the towel and scored a selfish century at poor strike rate. Never during the course of his stay at the crease it looked to me that he has intent to win the match for his country. Babar doesn't have any match winning capability at all and I have no idea why he is compared to Virat Kohli all the time.

 

[nik45hil]

Comparing babar to kohli ia like comparing grapes to mangoes

 

[Boi]

Soft cricketer. Not made for the big moments.

 

[Dingolfy]

I have told this many times in the other comparison thread with Rahul. He is an accumulator at best.

 

[Shandarchowka]

Very soft so far in his career. I hope he can learn a thing or two about impactful batting from Malik.

 

[Shandarchowka]

Why are ppl bringing kohli into discussion? One is a certified legend and one has just started his career. Babar first needs to show he can bat well in tough situations against good opponents let alone chasing down record totals and getting into discussions about all time greats.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Series against Aussies, kiwis, S.A and Eng so it will show if hes a quality player or a minnoe basher. Time for him to step it up.

 

[Bhaijaan]

As an Indian, Babar remains a nobody for me having not played many knocks that set the world on fire in high profile matches.

He is young. I wish him well.

 

[waleed88]

Time and again Babar has failed in important chases..

 

[Shandarchowka]

As an Indian, Babar remains a nobody for me having not played many knocks that set the world on fire in high profile matches.

He is young. I wish him well.

What does it have to do with you being an Indian?

 

[waleed88]

Not surprised here at all

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

Not conclusive.

A player can be analysed based on his performance against SENA and India.

He played just one Innings against SA and stayed NO. So, let's ignore that.

Against remaining 4 teams, he averages good against Australia (despite being his first series) and decent against England.

Whereas, really poor against NZ and IND. SO, it's even stevens atm.



There's a good test coming up after Asia cup.

3 vs NZ
5 vs SA (in SA)
5 vs AUS
5 vs ENG (in ENG)
WC

We'll get to know where he stands after the 2019 WC.

 

[Ab Fan]

As of now, he is a nobody in international cricket. It was a blasphemy when VVS Laxman during commentary was calling, "Babar is the Virat Kohli of Pakistan."

When he wins his team matches against top teams firstly at home, then I will start rating him. A long way to go to reach the levels of Rohit, Dhawan, Amla, Williamson, Root, Faf in ODIs etc.

 

[Bhaijaan]

What does it have to do with you being an Indian?

Because your Bhaijaan is not the guy who has seen any of the bilateral series vs Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe or basically any bilateral cricket player in UAE.

 

[unitedkush]

Still too early to make any conclusion.

I know this is a Cricket forum and stats are important but this place takes it to extremes. Micro-analysis of any players stats will reveal a chink in their armour or two but that doesn’t take away from their actual skill set.

An average of 50+ is actually creating unrealistic expectations in the mind of fans, just judge him on basis of your own set of eyes. I look at him and I see a better version of Ajinkya Rahane (the LOI batter) He’s not going to takeaway the game from you but he’s dependable enough to add stability whenever required.

Babar’s strongest asset is to add stability
to the side, play the role of the anchor to help his team setup an innings. Expecting him to perform a role of a player like Root will takeaway what he’s actually good at. He’s far from your biggest problem, let him hone his game. You need to figure out the puzzles alongside him.

Also stop comparing him to Kohli, the impact which Kohli makes in a match is something which can’t be matched or bettered by any other batter out there. His astoundingly high average just further exemplifies to what a freak he is.

 

[Shafi]

He will be next Md. Hafeez.

 

[WengerOut]

Like i always maintained, he is the Jonathan Trott of Pakistan. Fantastic stats but harmless. Need somebody like him as a support for other impact players. Comparison to Rahane is uncalled for. Rahane is neither an accumulator nor an impact player, basically atrocious ODI player.

 

[Madplayer]

He looks like getting out on every delivery even if he is playing at 110 - mediocre like his cousins.

As big a fan i am of Babar, i agree. Looks like he could get out any ball.

 

[FastBowlingAllrounder]

Series against Aussies, kiwis, S.A and Eng so it will show if hes a quality player or a minnoe basher. Time for him to step it up.

Exactly.

 

[Bubby]

On the side note imam is a better player with better temperament, however there is one chink in his armor that he needs to rectify, that is dab shot towards third man, I know it's his go to shot but that shot will seriously get him into trouble ,same thing happened with gambhir.

 

[saeedhk]

A clone of Misbah. Need I say more. Both are equally garbage.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

He will score runs without impact.

He is too good of a batsmen to not score runs.

But most of those runs will be without any impact unless Fakhar or Asif or some power hitter down the order accelerates.

By the time Babar accelerates, he has already consumed 75 balls and scored his slow 50.

 

[Balthazar]

He is a very good batsman as per Pakistan batting standards. He may not win you games against top teams, but he can play the role of an accumulator while other batters can bat around him. He need to better understand his strengths and weaknesses and play accordingly. He is not someone who can become Kohli and KL Rahul.

 

[Fahdi]

As impactless as Babar is he is essential for this team and is highly underappreciated. I have pointed out before that although Babar doesn't play the knock that wins the match if you remove his supporting role you still lose. If Fakhar is the hero of the innings blasting 110(95) then Babar is the sidekick with a 60(70) or a 100(110). On his own Babar won't win you too many matches, give him good partners and you'll see how good he is. The problem is that people want him to be our Kohli when he isn't in the same league.

 

[Justcrazy]

Babar is good by Pakistan standards .

 

[Sher Khan]

He is good by Pakistan standards. An orthodox batsman, who 9/10 times puts the bad ball away. He is an inferior version of Kohli. In my view, he will benefit a lot if he works hard on his fitness and running between the wickets.

 

[austerlitz]

Real deal.But in an anchor role for the rest of the batting line up,not as primary blaster.

 

[angrypathan]

Poor man's Williamson in LOIs, and miles away from him in Tests

 

[ARK Rafay]

He is a good player.

 

[Pakhs]

He is a good player but not as great as people made him out to be here. And I been saying that for a while but given his young age he will become better.

 

[topspin]

Good batsman but a mental midget.

Takes his time to get going because he doesn't rotate strike early on in his innings and he plays for his milestones. Needs a lot of work against spin as well. Lacks the ability to push gears due to his lack of power game.

I have more hope for him in tests especially outside Asia.

 

[Abdul]

Most useless batsman, even more so than his cousins.

 

[Dios]

He is nowhere near as good as some Pakistani fans were making him out to be at the start of his career or as good as his stats make him look but he is the best of the bunch and should be persisted with and he'll improve no doubt provided he has the right attitude unlike his cousins.

 

[topspin]

I remember when we were told the finest joke on PakPassion prior to the NZ series by a certain poster that he was better than Virat Kohli because of his higher average at the time, which I believe was in the high 50s (57-58 I think).

 

[MP2011]

Good batsman but that's about it. Not as good as his stats or fans suggest. Should try to play a season of county cricket.

 

[MP2011]

Btw, what's his current ODI average?

 

[BlackShadow]

He is a decent batsman despite the minnow bashing. Don't know if that counts as the "real deal".

 

[a_tahir]

How many centuries will Babar Azam score in the Odis??

How many centuries do u think Babar Azam will score in the 5 odis?
Also who do u think will be pakistan's leading run scorer??

 

[saeed5646]

Most useless batsman, even more so than his cousins.

For moment i thought you were talking about azhar last test series .i would love to see your face when babar azam replace azhar ali at number 3 in test

 

[saeed5646]

He will be next Md. Hafeez.

Useless pp expert whose whinnig is cringeworthy

 

[iPakistani]

How many centuries do u think Babar Azam will score in the 5 odis?
Also who do u think will be pakistan's leading run scorer??

Openers will get out quick so he will be in the middle very early, I expect atleast 2 centuries for him with Babar being the top scorer.

 

[Justcrazy]

How many centuries do u think Babar Azam will score in the 5 odis?
Also who do u think will be pakistan's leading run scorer??

Probably one .

 

[light]

Babar is probably one of the only positive thing you guys have going for you right now. Take it as something positive instead of neg. It's sad that he is being labeled as a minnow basher consistently. As if it's a crime to perform against weaker nations. Really don't understand this. He isn't avg'ing horribly even against the best of the best to consistently get a bashing. Let him play more games. I am certain he will leave a mark in PAK cricket once he retires.

 

[Ab Fan]

He has established himself in both tests and ODIs. As of now, that's all I can say.

 

[Abdullah]

It's time to start making the big moves.
I didn't see many people batting like he was in paks history in SA.
The saffers bowling was high class throughout but this guy looked at ease.

 

[Snak3eye5]

He has established himself in both tests and ODIs. As of now, that's all I can say.

He is very young and if groomed right will be a very good player. He needs to be backed and groomed.

 

[Madplayer]

He will score some 50s but would be hard to score 100s against SA line up. But pitches are flat so might score 1.

 

[Abdullah]

And he will be fully acclimatised too to the wickets.

 

[hadi123]

I don't expect any of our batsmen to score a century in this series

 

[babajee]

Will be disappointed if he doesn't score 2 centuries in the 5 ODIs. He's in form and fully adjusted to the conditions so there is no excuse from my point of view

 

[Ab Fan]

He is very young and if groomed right will be a very good player. He needs to be backed and groomed.

I think this was a breakthrough series for Babar. Time has come now to take responsibility, bat at 4 in tests and start becoming a prolific run-scorer.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

He can score 1 century at least. South African bowling in ODIs is above average at best. Tahir is in decline and Rabada is nothing special.

 

[rhony]

Think he will score 3 fifties out of 5 games in this series. Shan can score a hundred and will probably the only one to make a hundred on the Pak side.

 

[charlie007]

Babar looks like the real deal. I was not sure before given his middling and inconsistent performance against better teams, but I think he has come of age in the Tests vs SA. Where others in his team have generally sucked, Babar has taken on perhaps the best pace bowling attack in the world and has done reasonable well against it. I would like to see this kid do well and make a name for himself and his country. Good luck to him!

 

[Mahee]

no doubt he is sachin tendulkar of pakistan

 

[charlie007]

no doubt he is sachin tendulkar of pakistan

C'mon! Don't be biased and give credit where due. He might not be a Tendulkar but why's it so hard to appreciate a young player who's doing well?

 

[Ganju Baba]

So Babar "next Kohli" Azam has ended the SA test series with the average of 36. Hardly impressive if I am being honest.

Just 1 century in 40 innings is another such statistic that puts a dent in his hype. However he whopped Steyn so potential is clearly there.

 

[Buffet]

So Babar "next Kohli" Azam has ended the SA test series with the average of 36. Hardly impressive if I am being honest.

Just 1 century in 40 innings is another such statistic that puts a dent in his hype. However he whopped Steyn so potential is clearly there.

There is no need to hype, but there is no denying the fact that he has skills. 36 avg in SA is not bad.

Many younger players need 1-2 big score to get going and play big knocks consistently. Babar has age on his side and it's about time he starts converting his 30/40s to tons.

 

[a_tahir]

So Babar "next Kohli" Azam has ended the SA test series with the average of 36. Hardly impressive if I am being honest.

Just 1 century in 40 innings is another such statistic that puts a dent in his hype. However he whopped Steyn so potential is clearly there.

Saying it is hardly impressive is that Way too harsh, tbh it is quite ignorant.
A sub continent player scoring even at that average is good against such a good fast bowling attack
Remember that Babar is only 24 and comparing him to Kohli isn't even possible.
Remember how Kohli flopped in the 2014 Eng tour. Those were 5 matches and he flopped in ALL of them. Was he considered a terrible player after??

 

[Buffet]

Saying it is hardly impressive is that Way too harsh, tbh it is quite ignorant.
A sub continent player scoring even at that average is good against such a good fast bowling attack
Remember that Babar is only 24 and comparing him to Kohli isn't even possible.
Remember how Kohli flopped in the 2014 Eng tour. Those were 5 matches and he flopped in ALL of them. Was he considered a terrible player after??

I don't think it's a good analogy. Kohli had scored big runs everywhere except Eng by then.

 

[a_tahir]

We'll see in these 5 odis and the ones against eng how good he truly is.

 

[a_tahir]

Soft cricketer. Not made for the big moments.

Pretty Ironic coming from a person that has Babar Azam as their pic

 

[giri26]

Babar is a good player and not a minnow basher but again I am not very convinced with his temperament against big teams under pressure. Babar has been playing international cricket since 2015 and even though he is very talented as shown in the series just finished, he like all Pakistan batters struggles to kick on. You don't win games by just scoring pretty 50's and 60's when your team's batting is not very flash. Babar needs to score big hundreds when he gets a start, that's when he will transition to a great player. Right now he is a good young talented batter with wide range of shots. He needs to graduate to the next level to be effective for Pakistan. Probably if he was playing for India at number 4 or 5, he will be great as we have players who could score big but for Pakistan, he needs to be the player who bats through.

 

[Mahee]

C'mon! Don't be biased and give credit where due. He might not be a Tendulkar but why's it so hard to appreciate a young player who's doing well?

calling him tendulkar of pakistan doesn't appear to be a praise for you ?....I was not trolling him

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

He's someone who will not win you matches on his own. That should be enough to determine his category as a player.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

I know one thing.
By the end of this series he will make sure that we will not see a single naysayer of him

 

[Dr_Bassim]

I am curious how he paces his ODI innings.

In Tests he was playing faster than he plays in ODI's.

 

[Gullycricket]

This tour will establish him .Loved how Faf was willing to open up the field up for him to take a single which shows the opposition respects him and know its better to target our other players

 

[a_tahir]

Yeah

 

[a_tahir]

I don't think it's a good analogy. Kohli had scored big runs everywhere except Eng by then.

But Kohli had been playing for more years as well.
Babar has only been playing for 3 and a half years.

 

[WengerOut]

But Kohli had been playing for more years as well.
Babar has only been playing for 3 and a half years.

He is talking about 2014 when Kohli was 3 years in the test arena. He scored everywhere except England.

 

[m.awais]

I am not worried about centuries. I want him to finish games. I haven't seen one game where he has taken Pakistan through to end. He always gets out at crucial moments.

 

[Ganju Baba]

There is no need to hype, but there is no denying the fact that he has skills. 36 avg in SA is not bad.

Many younger players need 1-2 big score to get going and play big knocks consistently. Babar has age on his side and it's about time he starts converting his 30/40s to tons.

36 avg is not that good either. But I agree with the rest of it.

 

[Ganju Baba]

Saying it is hardly impressive is that Way too harsh, tbh it is quite ignorant.
A sub continent player scoring even at that average is good against such a good fast bowling attack
Remember that Babar is only 24 and comparing him to Kohli isn't even possible.
Remember how Kohli flopped in the 2014 Eng tour. Those were 5 matches and he flopped in ALL of them. Was he considered a terrible player after??

Kohli was an established batsman by 2014 and was a member of WC winning squad. Eng tour was the only black spot on his career and he took care of it in style in 2018.

I am not saying Babar is a terrible player. I am saying that if he doesn't pull up his socks and score big he is will end up a mediocre player in the lines of Misbah.