Show me the those High quality knock( Mainly outside the subcontinent) . Put them here one by one.
I don’t discriminate between venues because I judge the merit of an innings based on match situation, conditions and quality of bowling. I don’t judge by the venue.
You can score tough runs in Mirpur and easy runs in MCG.
Anyway, from the top of my head, I will quote the following examples as illustration of his talents as a Test batsman.
- 90* in NZ in 2016 when all other batsman failed. The pitch had a lot of seam movement.
- 68* in 2018 at Lord’s. An innings that was cut short due to a hairline fracture. It was an exhibition of high quality batting vs Anderson and Broad and the fact that it was his maiden tour of England made it even more impressive.
There was a world of difference between how he played and how Kohli played in England in 2014 at a similar age. It was such an impressive innings that the Lord’s media team created a montage the next day with the title: “Should Babar Azam be on the Lord’s Honour’s Board?”
- He had a couple of very impressive and attacking 70+ scores on his maiden tours of South Africa in 2018-19. Steyn was past his prime but Rabada was at his best and the way he played was an illustration of his caliber.
- 196 vs Australia as discussed above
- 119 in Sri Lanka where the second highest score in that innings was Rizwan’s 19.
All of these are very impressive innings that all came in the same period 2018-2022 when he played his best.
Yes he has been well below his level in 2023 and 2024, but all quality players go through such slumps. However, he still has 5-6 years left in him and he will back to his best very soon and is already showing glimpses of getting back to his best.
