[PICTURES/VIDEOS] Babar Azam's performance watch as captain for Peshawar Zalmi

[160KPH]

I wrote this in another thread in my response to @Dr_Bassim.

Babar’s SR of 159 in the PP overs in the league stage was the highest amongst all openers.

It was higher than the explosive, big shot openers like Roy, Hales, Munro, Fakhar and even his own teammate Saim who are frequently referenced as examples of the type of opener Pakistan needs in this format.

But I didn’t see a single post by @Dr_Bassim or by anyone else to acknowledge his phenomenal SR.

This is what a toxic agenda looks like. As far as Imad is concerned, he is a failed cricketer who didn’t have the courage to fight for his place in the team and started crying in the media.

Babar Azam also had a 149.6 SR last year in the PP overs in the PSL. He clearly has made a massive jump in terms of aggressive striking early on, particularly ever since he joined PZ. Even in international cricket, in 2023 Babar had a 146 SR in T20 and in 2024 he had a 142 SR.

I’ve noticed none of his detractors will ever address this. Rather they will reference some unfalsifiable and emotionally based argument about how somehow Imad Wasim averaging 17.83 @ 132 SR is somehow more aggressive and better than Babar Azam scoring at a 10 point higher SR.

The truth is very simple, Babar Azam could score at a 200 SR, but it would not matter to some of these detractors because they start out with the conclusion that Babar is bad and then every single statement after that is only there to serve as a defense of the conclusion they already arrived to. Imad Wasim could average 5 @ 105 SR and somehow these will be called more “impactful” runs.

 

[Rana]

Another extremely dominant batting display from Babar this tournament.

Leading run scorer of the tournament as well as having the most 4’s of any player. I haven’t seen the recalculated numbers after today’s match but Babar had the highest SR of any player in the PP overs.

In this PSL, Babar Azam has achieved the highest strike rate of 152.94 during the Powerplay, which is the highest among all batters. What’s even more remarkable is that his average during this phase is 260, demonstrating both his speed and consistency. Interestingly, his average in the Powerplay is due to a run out, not a dismissal by any bowler.

He averaged 57 at a SR of 142 with 5 50’s and 1 100. PZ needs to pick up some bowling talent next year and then they can easily make a run for the championship.

What’s Babar’s sr in the last 3 games he played?

Why is his sr continuously poor outside of the powerplay having got a decent start?

 

[daytrader]

Not to mention that Babar never even criticized Imad. It was Imad who went on TV and began criticizing Babar despite him still being an active player. Regardless, Babar still gave Imad credit after today’s innings.

The Dosti yaari group has always been favourable to Imad. Babar praising him, Shadab giving him game time even though some would like us to believe that Shadab hates Imad because he's jealous and a competitor for his spot.

I also remember Babar propelling Imad's journalism career by giving 'Madi bhai' an interview after scoring a century against New Zealand.

Imad was back in the team, and had rightfully left the Amir camp. Not sure why he decided to retire

 

[160KPH]

The Dosti yaari group has always been favourable to Imad. Babar praising him, Shadab giving him game time even though some would like us to believe that Shadab hates Imad because he's jealous and a competitor for his spot.

I also remember Babar propelling Imad's journalism career by giving 'Madi bhai' an interview after scoring a century against New Zealand.

Imad was back in the team, and had rightfully left the Amir camp. Not sure why he decided to retire

Yeah Shadab today even said he would try to get Imad to take back his retirement.

I have no clue why Imad chose to retire. He was personally called by Hafeez when Hafeez was the chief selector and he was told to sign a central contract. He seems to have made himself unavailable to play for the New Zealand T20 series and rather chose to just play league cricket full time. A few days later he announced his retirement from international cricket.

I still do not understand his decision making. If you want to leave international cricket to play league cricket, fine, but then do not fail the entire PSL, play a couple of decent innings and then suddenly come out of retirement. If you want to play in the T20 WC, you should have made yourself available for selection in the bilateral series leading up to the tournament so we could figure out combination out.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

He should have brought Saim back after the fall of 5 wickets to finish his last over. He was fielding at the boundary and watching the game slip away from his hands. Poor fielding cost an extra 10 runs.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

i was expecting that Babar will break the record of Fakhar Zaman for the most runs in a single PSL season but he went unlucky.

 

[Rana]

i was expecting that Babar will break the record of Fakhar Zaman for the most runs in a single PSL season but he went unlucky.

To break that record, he needs to play in the final or score his runs at a faster rate. It wasn’t possible this season because Imad Wasim and Islamabad United knocked him out

Better luck next time

 

[Mamoon]

Babar was exceptional both as a batsman and as a captain. I have no doubt in my mind that no other captain would have done better with this Zalmi team.

He is my choice for the player of the tournament and how many has he won already? It is quite incredible. He is the real king of PSL.

 

[pakistani pride]

Did no one really question his pathetic batting during PP overs?

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Did no one really question his pathetic batting during PP overs?

This time he improved his SR alot, utilized PP better than before.

 

[pakistani pride]

This time he improved his SR alot, utilized PP better than before.

I mean yesterday, he was going at run a ball.

 

[heddie19]

By far the best captain of the tournament. The way he handled his weak resources was great to watch. Opening the bowling with Saim proved to be a master-stroke.

I support and endorse the decision of Babar getting back the captaincy in all formats if Shaheen doesn't get back to his best with the ball. I think Babar did an incredible job as captain in this tournament and his batting was terrific as always.

Couldn't agree more. PZ had by far the most useless bowling attack when Ngidi and Noor Ahmed withdrawn. Babar's captaincy was fantastic throughout with the resources he had.

Babar Azam will captain Pakistan again soon.

 

[Mamoon]

Couldn't agree more. PZ had by far the most useless bowling attack when Ngidi and Noor Ahmed withdrawn. Babar's captaincy was fantastic throughout with the resources he had.

Babar Azam will captain Pakistan again soon.

All other captains would have finished dead last with this Zalmi team. People don’t realize how weak their bowling was. It was minnow level.

It was Babar’s tactics and great batting that took them this far. The real player of the tournament for me.

 

[Rana]

All other captains would have finished dead last with this Zalmi team. People don’t realize how weak their bowling was. It was minnow level.

It was Babar’s tactics and great batting that took them this far. The real player of the tournament for me.

The argument is that Rizwan would have got the best out of his bowlers no matter who they were

What do you say on this?

 

[Mamoon]

The argument is that Rizwan would have got the best out of his bowlers no matter who they were

What do you say on this?

Rizwan is a rubbish captain.

He has the luxury of playing for the best run franchise with the healthiest squad and he has bottled three finals on the trot.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Babar's captaincy was definitely good throughout the whole season. The bowlers messed up that eliminator or else they might have won this one. The absence of Noor Ahmed, ngidi, and Naveen (in the last games) has hurt Zalmi big time.

 

[heddie19]

The inexperience bowling of PZ was bound to mess up at some stage. It was already an overachievement what they did in group stage.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Babar Azam is the only player in PSL history to have scored 550+ runs in two different seasons.

 

[Rana]

Babar Azam is the only player in PSL history to have scored 550+ runs in two different seasons.

View attachment 142856

And losing the PSL on both occasions

 

[Saj]

Was Babar's captaincy really that good?

If that was the case why was Sammy jumping up and down on the boundary edge every match.

I thought at key times Babar lacked good leadership.

 

[sl-fan-of-pak]

He wasn't, sachin was far better in tests and had overtaken anwar in odis by the 1996 wc

Anwar never took tests seriously. 90s were the era for ODIs. It was defined by ODIs. As a Sri Lankan, and many would confirm this, Anwar was more threatening than Sachin, scored at a brisk pace and scored daddy hundreds as well. We always saw Sachin as your username.

 

[sl-fan-of-pak]

Was Babar's captaincy really that good?

If that was the case why was Sammy jumping up and down on the boundary edge every match.

I thought at key times Babar lacked good leadership.

Babar is a weak guy, you can read a person's body language and eyes and say how calm and strong they're. The same could be said about Haider Ali, guy looks mentally weak. Amir, Imad, Saim, Mohammad Ali look extremely confident and always on the money, whereas Naseem, Amir Jamal, Shadab, Ifthikar, Rizwan, Fakhar are somewhat ok, regardless whether they perform or not.

Shaheen, Babar, Hasnain are talented yet mentally weak.

 

[sl-fan-of-pak]

When you think that you won the game already but there is still half of the game left, then you will loose in the end. I think Naveen's unavailability was one of the factors that cost Zalmi this game.

------------------------

Babar Azam speaking in an interview after losing the Eliminator 2 against Islamabad United:

“After 10 overs, we were in a good position. However, the way we bowled was very poor. After 10 overs, we were not up to the mark because we thought we had already won the match. I believe the credit goes to Imad Wasim and Haider Ali for the way they played.”

“Although the conditions remained the same, we could not execute our plans. When you don’t follow your plans, the results become evident. After the first 10 overs, we were ahead in the game, but from then on, our bowling performance was ordinary, leading to Islamabad’s victory in the end.”

​

To be fair to Babar though...he probably had the weakest bowling line up ever to grace any ground in Pakistan.

 

[UzmanBeast]

I wrote this in another thread in my response to @Dr_Bassim.

Babar’s SR of 159 in the PP overs in the league stage was the highest amongst all openers.

It was higher than the explosive, big shot openers like Roy, Hales, Munro, Fakhar and even his own teammate Saim who are frequently referenced as examples of the type of opener Pakistan needs in this format.

But I didn’t see a single post by @Dr_Bassim or by anyone else to acknowledge his phenomenal SR.

This is what a toxic agenda looks like. As far as Imad is concerned, he is a failed cricketer who didn’t have the courage to fight for his place in the team and started crying in the media.

Brilliantly stated.

No ungainly hacks, no mindless slogging, the partnership with Saim is truly incredible for the future of Pakistan.

Yet, we will always have posters who hype up the likes of Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir who take digs at cricketers without actually owning up to their own shortcomings and short-sightedness.

 

[UzmanBeast]

And losing the PSL on both occasions

Sure. It's a team game, not a one-man show.

But of course, when it is convenient to bring someone else down, people will bring everything to be a one-man show, and not a team game.

 

[Caved12]

Was Babar's captaincy really that good?

If that was the case why was Sammy jumping up and down on the boundary edge every match.

I thought at key times Babar lacked good leadership.

Bringing Saim Ayub for his 3rd over in power play was a huge mistake and if the players thought that the game was already in the bag after getting 5 wickets, then Babar is the only guy to blame for the loss in Eliminator 2.

Not a good leader at all. Does not know how to develop players and is never willing to sacrifice for his team.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Bringing Saim Ayub for his 3rd over in power play was a huge mistake and if the players thought that the game was already in the bag after getting 5 wickets, then Babar is the only guy to blame for the loss in Eliminator 2.

Not a good leader at all. Does not know how to develop players and is never willing to sacrifice for his team.

you are right. The whole momentum shifted after that over. Peshawar thought they had won the game already but it is never a win until you win it in the end. Never celebrate too early.

 

[MenInG]

Babar awarded a new car for his performance in PSL

https://twitter.com/x/status/1782410105394245954

 

[FearlessRoar]

Mr Javed Afridi, Chairman Peshawar Zalmi fulfilled his promise made to Babar Azam during PSL 9. Peshawar Zalmi and Pakistan Cricket Team captain Babar Azam received a brand new MG HS Essence car from Mr. Javed Afridi.

Javed Afridi announced to gift MG Car HS essence to Babar Azam for making a wonderful century during PSL 9. Peshawar Zalmi and Pakistan Cricket Team captain Babar Azam visited the MG automotive plant in Lahore. Peshawar Zalmi Chairman Javed Afridi handed over the MG HS Essence car to Babar Azam. MG HS Essence car is completely manufactured in Pakistan, On this occasion, MG Pakistan management and staff took pictures and selfies with Babar Azam.

 

[FearlessRoar]

He didn't win them a trophy yet is getting a car as a gift.

 

[topspin]

He didn't win them a trophy yet is getting a car as a gift.

I think it was @Slim who highlighted the proactive indirect attacks, that were being made towards Shaheen, from the Peshawar Zalmi X account during last year’s World Cup.

Same Javed Afridi who told his people to circulate rumours that he was lining up to buy Chelsea FC. Even our brother @Savak fell for this.

 

[Savak]

He didn't win them a trophy yet is getting a car as a gift.

This is strictly business, lets be real regardless of Babar's lack of impactful output or match winning performances, he is the most popular player in Pakistan with the largest following, he drives the traffic towards PZ and hence Javed Afridi must keep him happy.