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Say what you want, but Babar Azam is still Pakistan’s most gifted batter

Babar: 45 runs from 3 games at a strike rate of 79
Rizwan: 91 runs from 3 games at a strike rate of 74

The frauds have been exposed yet again, that too against a depleted SA bowling attack
 
Babar needs a captain like Cummins in T20s. It's better to get all out for 100 in 10 overs than to score 140/7 in 20. With that mindset Babar's strike rate will surely improve.
 
topspin said:
Babar: 45 runs from 3 games at a strike rate of 79
Rizwan: 91 runs from 3 games at a strike rate of 74

The frauds have been exposed yet again, that too against a depleted SA bowling attack
Click to expand...
You reckon they (or their blind fans) have any shame? Or regret? They are celebrating this weird random 15000(!?) milestone like it's first step on the moon. They will probably cut a cake also tonight!
 
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VForVendetta said:
You reckon they (or their blind fans) have any shame? Or regret? They are celebrating this weird random 15000(!?) milestone like it's first step on the moon. They will probably cut a cake also tonight!
Click to expand...

You’re forgetting this is a monumental milestone for Pakistan’s modern batting maestro. Consistency, Class, and Elegance personified across all formats.
 
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Ball Blazer said:
Babar Azam joins an elite club!

Pakistan’s star batsman has crossed 15,000 international runs in 370 innings, achieving this milestone during the 3rd ODI against South Africa.

Babar is the 5th Pakistani cricketer to reach this mark, joining legends:

Inzamam-ul-Haq – 20,541 runs
Younis Khan – 17,790 runs
Mohammad Yousuf – 17,134 runs
Javed Miandad – 16,213 runs

His tally across formats:

Tests: 4,366 runs
ODIs: 6,330+ runs
T20Is: 4,302 runs
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Another pointless stat considering the others either played very little or zero t20s.

Stop clutching.
 
He is gifted but he has no brains to learn and fix issues... He is looking like going with the flow.
 
TheSultan said:
Point very well made. I am sick of these stupid social media posts.

If it’s not a current cover drive, it’s some random innings he played years ago or some random shot he played years ago. “Ve don’t respect him enough”


If it’s not that, we get some sympathy post about how he’s crying in the dressing room. “He cares so much”

If it’s not that it’s the paid fans queueing up to meet him or fans leaving the stadium when he gets out “Vot Aura” 🥴

Wouldn’t it be just a lot easier to work on your damn game.
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I will tell you the reality of his so-called “aura” and fanbase.

First of all, when he first burst onto the international arena, he was really good with quick footwork and magical wrist shots but he lacked power because of his body shape and lack of fitness. Still, he scored runs against everyone and was on the verge of becoming the best Pakistani batsman ever produced.

Then came Imran Khan and Ramiz, who put it in his mind that he was the best a “king” and the number one batsman of this era and that he should also be captain. They snatched the captaincy from Sarfaraz and made him captain, without realizing that he had never captained a side in his life. To strengthen his grip on the captaincy, he introduced his dosti-yari (friendship) group.

So, the years that should have been used to learn and improve his skills were wasted on useless captaincy and player politics with his friends. He, along with other players, started spending a lot on PR and social media content. Our nation is a lost one, filled with delusional ideologies anyone can fool them.

If Imran Khan can win elections through social media power, turkey can be seen as a great islamic land through turkish dramas, then Babar Azam can also build his so-called “aura” using social media, despite having only average performances.
 
I look at guys like him and guys like Shakib for Bangladesh (only w.r.t batting) and others in a similar vein.

The talent pool in both countries w.r.t batting is clearly not where you want it to be. That's the reason they get more chances. When you get more chances , you inevitably do score more runs as the opposition is looking more into dismissing the other batsmen as you(babar/Shakib) are in essence someone they can control (with your low scoring rate).

What's going to happen is that batsmen like babar and Shakib look good and the stats look alright, but if the talent pool in those countries was better, they would have had to fight for their places more (it might have to mean taking more risks in their batting). Instead here , they get into the sweet spot knowing that even a temporary blip means nothing as they are invariably called back

Helped that Shakib was invariably Bangladesh's best bowler for a large part of his career no doubt but the same principle applies. His bowling stats look good but the end result of cricket matters in how many matches he's won.
 
No doubt about his natural skill. Definitely one of the most, if not the most, naturally skilled batsmen from Pak.

However, one of the weakest mentally. This drawback has severely limited his accomplishments and he's nowhere near his ceiling.

Very unfortunate. If he had a strong head between his shoulders, he would have achieved great heights.
 
adi_62941 said:
I will tell you the reality of his so-called “aura” and fanbase.

First of all, when he first burst onto the international arena, he was really good with quick footwork and magical wrist shots but he lacked power because of his body shape and lack of fitness. Still, he scored runs against everyone and was on the verge of becoming the best Pakistani batsman ever produced.

Then came Imran Khan and Ramiz, who put it in his mind that he was the best a “king” and the number one batsman of this era and that he should also be captain. They snatched the captaincy from Sarfaraz and made him captain, without realizing that he had never captained a side in his life. To strengthen his grip on the captaincy, he introduced his dosti-yari (friendship) group.

So, the years that should have been used to learn and improve his skills were wasted on useless captaincy and player politics with his friends. He, along with other players, started spending a lot on PR and social media content. Our nation is a lost one, filled with delusional ideologies anyone can fool them.

If Imran Khan can win elections through social media power, turkey can be seen as a great islamic land through turkish dramas, then Babar Azam can also build his so-called “aura” using social media, despite having only average performances.
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I agree the captaincy was not deserved or required.

But people deal with it in different ways. We can blame who orchestrated it as much as we want (and I’m not saying don’t mention it), but the player himself has to take responsibility.

I am just at a loss for words right of the lack of ambition in this current era.

Not only babar, most of our regular batsmen (imam, abdullah, saud) over the last 5 years have not challenged themselves to add dimensions to their batting.


Naseem in the bowling too - how can someone who was bowling 147k in his test debut be now reduced to a ceiling of 138k and with that nearly 50% slower balls. Where is your ego? Where’s your pride? How can a bowler who can hit 90mph turn himself in to a trundler and slower ball lover.

As Wasim Akram once said when he was first asked to bowl
a slower ball - “p*** off, I’m a fast bowler”.

Mindset.

Doesn’t mean wasim never learned the slower ball or bowled it, but he knew his primary skill was fast bowling.

Naseem is just happy to operate in the slow lane.
 
TheSultan said:
I agree the captaincy was not deserved or required.

But people deal with it in different ways. We can blame who orchestrated it as much as we want (and I’m not saying don’t mention it), but the player himself has to take responsibility.

I am just at a loss for words right of the lack of ambition in this current era.

Not only babar, most of our regular batsmen (imam, abdullah, saud) over the last 5 years have not challenged themselves to add dimensions to their batting.


Naseem in the bowling too - how can someone who was bowling 147k in his test debut be now reduced to a ceiling of 138k and with that nearly 50% slower balls. Where is your ego? Where’s your pride? How can a bowler who can hit 90mph turn himself in to a trundler and slower ball lover.

As Wasim Akram once said when he was first asked to bowl
a slower ball - “p*** off, I’m a fast bowler”.

Mindset.

Doesn’t mean wasim never learned the slower ball or bowled it, but he knew his primary skill was fast bowling.

Naseem is just happy to operate in the slow lane.
Click to expand...

The issue of “mediocrity” in Pakistan cricket is more complicated than it may seem.

No doubt, the quality, ambition, pride and motivation are missing in the current cricketing lot compared to the players we had before the 2000s. Those players also lost many matches, but they had that X factor, the ability to win from seemingly impossible situations. Now, I honestly can’t recall any major match we have won out of nowhere in recent years however there are tons of matches which we lost from winning positions.

The mediocrity in our cricket can be attributed to several factors:
  • Economic and political conditions of the country.
  • A large influx of players from KPK (debatable).
  • Lack of star players apart from Babar and Shaheen, and even they look quite ordinary against strong teams.
  • No long-term vision in the PCB — the management and staff keep changing, creating instability.
  • Lack of merit in PCB decisions. One day you wake up and find out that someone unexpected has been appointed captain or coach (e.g., Shan Masood, Babar in 2019, before the 2024 WT20, etc.).
  • India’s rapid progress — they have advanced so far that they’re now out of our reach. They’re ahead in almost every aspect of the game, and the rivalry has practically faded.
  • Retired and aging players are now the only ones available to play in the PSL, which neither contributes to competitiveness nor adds real value to the league. As a result, some of our players perform well there and start believing they are superstars, whereas the reality is quite different.
 
Snowflake said:
No doubt about his natural skill. Definitely one of the most, if not the most, naturally skilled batsmen from Pak.

However, one of the weakest mentally. This drawback has severely limited his accomplishments and he's nowhere near his ceiling.

Very unfortunate. If he had a strong head between his shoulders, he would have achieved great heights.
Click to expand...
Zaheer Abbas, Sayeed Anwar , Inzamamul Haq, Imran Nazir, Nasir Jamshed & Umar Akmal - all of them were "naturally" far more skilled than this Virat Kohli fanboy. You can't term a dude naturally skilled or talented when he can't even properly hit sixes in Micky mouse 60 meter grounds.
 
adi_62941 said:
India’s rapid progress — they have advanced so far that they’re now out of our reach. They’re ahead in almost every aspect of the game, and the rivalry has practically faded.
Click to expand...
How does India's progress impact Pakistan's cricket progress ?
 
TheSultan said:
I agree the captaincy was not deserved or required.

But people deal with it in different ways. We can blame who orchestrated it as much as we want (and I’m not saying don’t mention it), but the player himself has to take responsibility.

I am just at a loss for words right of the lack of ambition in this current era.

Not only babar, most of our regular batsmen (imam, abdullah, saud) over the last 5 years have not challenged themselves to add dimensions to their batting.


Naseem in the bowling too - how can someone who was bowling 147k in his test debut be now reduced to a ceiling of 138k and with that nearly 50% slower balls. Where is your ego? Where’s your pride? How can a bowler who can hit 90mph turn himself in to a trundler and slower ball lover.

As Wasim Akram once said when he was first asked to bowl
a slower ball - “p*** off, I’m a fast bowler”.

Mindset.

Doesn’t mean wasim never learned the slower ball or bowled it, but he knew his primary skill was fast bowling.

Naseem is just happy to operate in the slow lane.
Click to expand...
WONDERFUL post and deserves TWO thumbs up!(y)(y)

This describes the CULTURE of South Asia, but primarily Pakistan - not taking the ownership of self development. I guess that is where schooling and smart parenting comes in which is a separate topic.

Back to the topic - in case of Babar, the ownership eventually falls on his shoulder. He should know whether he was capable of handling pressure of captaincy while keeping himself motivated to perform with his bat. A proud, responsible, and mature person would self evaluate and withdraw himself if not up to the task. In Pakistan, generally there is no accountability of anything, and anyone growing up in that culture, more than likely would inherit this trait.

You gave an awesome example of Naseem for over doing something in Pakistan that works at times. I have been sick of watching many fast bowlers in Pakistan using slow ball as a stock ball vs fast. It just shows no game awareness and lack of logic development.

Pakistani society needs education that builds logic. Unfortunately, the looters are busy in gnawing the country and the gatekeepers priorities are laid somewhere else.
 
Babar is a textbook batter.

Problem is this is not the era for textbook batting. This is the era for 360 batting.

Babar could've been a legend in the 80's and 90's. He is a limited batter for this era.

Anyway, he is good for ODI and Test. He should continue to play those 2 formats.
 
According to intent brigade, its Sahibzada Farhan the most talented batter because he hit couple of chikkey to Bumrah
 
sweep_shot said:
Babar is a textbook batter.

Problem is this is not the era for textbook batting. This is the era for 360 batting.

Babar could've been a legend in the 80's and 90's. He is a limited batter for this era.

Anyway, he is good for ODI and Test. He should continue to play those 2 formats.
Click to expand...
Once probably close to a textbook, not anymore. He lacks fitness, will to succeed, and probably slower reflexes as well now. A textbook bat would have figured out how to play spin by the time he would about to be over the hill.
 
CricVet said:
Once probably close to a textbook, not anymore. He lacks fitness, will to succeed, and probably slower reflexes as well now. A textbook bat would have figured out how to play spin by the time he would about to be over the hill.
Click to expand...

Yeah. His form declined. Not the same old Babar from 2019-2021 period.

Anyway, he did well against South Africa in the recent series.
 
VForVendetta said:
Zaheer Abbas, Sayeed Anwar , Inzamamul Haq, Imran Nazir, Nasir Jamshed & Umar Akmal - all of them were "naturally" far more skilled than this Virat Kohli fanboy. You can't term a dude naturally skilled or talented when he can't even properly hit sixes in Micky mouse 60 meter grounds.
Click to expand...
I haven’t seen enough of Zaheer Abbas to comment on him, but Babar certainly has more natural ability than Saeed and Inzi. The others aren’t even close to Babar.
 
CricVet said:
Once probably close to a textbook, not anymore. He lacks fitness, will to succeed, and probably slower reflexes as well now. A textbook bat would have figured out how to play spin by the time he would about to be over the hill.
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Agreed. That’s something that has disappointed me a lot. I don’t know if it’s lack of hunger/drive to be better or if it’s just plain arrogance. I think it’s the former.
 
Snowflake said:
Agreed. That’s something that has disappointed me a lot. I don’t know if it’s lack of hunger/drive to be better or if it’s just plain arrogance. I think it’s the former.
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Mix of both - a typical South Asian fame culture. A little fame gets to the head, and consequently less effort.
 
Why are people assuming Babar isn’t putting in the effort? Maybe he just isn’t as good as the hype.
 
Snowflake said:
I haven’t seen enough of Zaheer Abbas to comment on him, but Babar certainly has more natural ability than Saeed and Inzi. The others aren’t even close to Babar.
Click to expand...
Has to be one of the worst takes I've read on this forum.

Inzy has more natural ability in his little finger than Babar + Kamran + umar combined.

Anwar was technically correct batsman as well as a free flowing strokemaker.

Zaheer Abbas is probably Pakistan's most technically correct batsman ever
 
sithb said:
How does India's progress impact Pakistan's cricket progress ?
Click to expand...
India’s rapid progress in cricket from world-class infrastructure to strong domestic leagues like the IPL has widened the gap with Pakistan. While India invests heavily in facilities, player development, and sports management, Pakistan continues to struggle with outdated infrastructure, inconsistent domestic structures, and poor governance.

This imbalance means Indian players have more exposure, better fitness programs, and greater financial stability, while Pakistani cricket still relies on raw talent over systems. Until Pakistan prioritizes long-term investment in cricket infrastructure and administration, India’s rise will continue to highlight Pakistan’s stagnation.
 
VForVendetta said:
Zaheer Abbas, Sayeed Anwar , Inzamamul Haq, Imran Nazir, Nasir Jamshed & Umar Akmal - all of them were "naturally" far more skilled than this Virat Kohli fanboy. You can't term a dude naturally skilled or talented when he can't even properly hit sixes in Micky mouse 60 meter grounds.
Click to expand...
Yeah, no idea how people are claiming Babar has more talent than those players. All of them had better range of shots (despite ODIs being a slow affair then), better ability to pick gaps, could hit the ball in the air and for 6 at will, which Babar cannot, could play pace and spin better.

Apart from maybe nazir and Umar, all of them could also convert their starts more frequently into big scores and could score anywhere and on tough pitches and against better opponents.
 
adi_62941 said:
India’s rapid progress in cricket from world-class infrastructure to strong domestic leagues like the IPL has widened the gap with Pakistan. While India invests heavily in facilities, player development, and sports management, Pakistan continues to struggle with outdated infrastructure, inconsistent domestic structures, and poor governance.

This imbalance means Indian players have more exposure, better fitness programs, and greater financial stability, while Pakistani cricket still relies on raw talent over systems. Until Pakistan prioritizes long-term investment in cricket infrastructure and administration, India’s rise will continue to highlight Pakistan’s stagnation.
Click to expand...
India is investing in their cricket. Pakistan isn't investing.

The rise of India has little to do with Pakistan not investing.
 
BreadPakoda said:
Those are not bad numbers (except 2025). Babar’s issue is that he is hyped as a GOAT but doesn’t show up in important games.
Click to expand...
The real story is the strike rate, which is abysmal since 2023, that tells the real story. When he was in form, it was 100+. So mostly the averages have been because of impactless innings at slow strike rates.
 
Got overhyped in his mid-20s but never peaked in late 20s and early 30s.

Test average of 42 with 1 away ton is mediocre.
ODI average is excellent but strike rate low(~87). Shai Hope level ODI batsman.
 
Ab Fan said:
Got overhyped in his mid-20s but never peaked in late 20s and early 30s.

Test average of 42 with 1 away ton is mediocre.
ODI average is excellent but strike rate low(~87). Shai Hope level ODI batsman.
Click to expand...
What is his real age?
 
Sachin fan said:
Yeah, no idea how people are claiming Babar has more talent than those players. All of them had better range of shots (despite ODIs being a slow affair then), better ability to pick gaps, could hit the ball in the air and for 6 at will, which Babar cannot, could play pace and spin better.

Apart from maybe nazir and Umar, all of them could also convert their starts more frequently into big scores and could score anywhere and on tough pitches and against better opponents.
Click to expand...
Babar fanboys dwell in an alternative world..
 
Sachin fan said:
The real story is the strike rate, which is abysmal since 2023, that tells the real story. When he was in form, it was 100+. So mostly the averages have been because of impactless innings at slow strike rates.
Click to expand...

Among the 260 plus dot ball guys in the last one year here is the stat. Babar is on par with Hridoy. Infact more dots than anyone else. 60% dots. Abysmal strike rate, averag. Atleast one column should be close to green.

Screenshot-2025-11-11-094532.jpg
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Among the 260 plus dot ball guys in the last one year here is the stat. Babar is on par with Hridoy. Infact more dots than anyone else. 60% dots. Abysmal strike rate, averag. Atleast one column should be close to green.

Screenshot-2025-11-11-094532.jpg
Click to expand...
Hridoy is an idiot , saw his couple of games live and refused to take a run..
 
Dr_Bassim said:
Everyday I point out he is mediocre.

No one believes me.
Click to expand...
It’s becoming pretty evident

I’m not sure he’s currently in the top 50 international batsmen atm. Maybe even top 75 in reality. An average player with an average to no impact on the match.
 
Snowflake said:
I haven’t seen enough of Zaheer Abbas to comment on him, but Babar certainly has more natural ability than Saeed and Inzi. The others aren’t even close to Babar.
Click to expand...
Lol, lol and some more lols. Anyone who considers babar more talented than Saeed Anwar let alone Inzy needs to have their head checked
 
The worse Babar is getting, the more obnoxious his troll army is getting on X. It has become laughable at this point. They are claiming the delivery that got him yesterday, no human being in history could have played that. And that Pakistan won the last match because of the couple of catches he took.

At least with Virat and Rohit troll armies, they have substance from the past to speak about. Rohit is still the #1 ranked ODI batsman in ICC rankings.​
 
Imagine when someone gets the hype after a pathetic innings lol
 
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Just look at Babar's innings in the final T20 against SA. It wasn't 100 years ago!!

He is a class apart. Proper cricket shots at a good tempo. How many batsmen do we have like this? We desperately need him in LOI cricket.
 
Not easy to fix fundamental issues when you are in the 30s. You need proper work ethic for that.

And fixing his technique might still get him weak in some other department.

The list of batsmen who successfully changed their technique after crossing 30 is very less.
 
It's not just about the confidence to play more shots. There is a technical deficiency in his game. One that a specialized batting coach should be solving.
 
Kohli with his work ethic could not work on his technique when he crossed 30. Once muscle memory sets in , it's not easy.

I don't think babar has the discipline needed to work on his technique at his age right now. Not everyone is a Sachin / dravid / kp / Younis Khan to do that at the later stages of their career.
 
sithb said:
Kohli with his work ethic could not work on his technique when he crossed 30. Once muscle memory sets in , it's not easy.

I don't think babar has the discipline needed to work on his technique at his age right now. Not everyone is a Sachin / dravid / kp / Younis Khan to do that at the later stages of their career.
Click to expand...
Hand eye coordination players have a really steep decline once age catches up, whether it is Sehwag, Ponting, Kohli, etc. They rarely have a second wind.

Whereas players with solid technique like Dravid, Younis etc can play well even when aged.

I think players like Sachin, Richards, etc are an exception and rate mix of both.
 
Viv was hand eye type player as well. He really looked bad during the last.2 years or so of his career. People tend to invite that because we look at overall career.

At some stage , even players with the best technique can't stop the deterioration of hand eye coordination as age catched up
 
But yes, the likes of Dravid etc will have a longer life because they aren't reliant that much on hand eye
 
Kohli isn't a hand eye player. He just was a limited batsman that got found out in tests
 
In that sense , Viv wasn't a complete batsman. I would still say he's my number 1 batsman of all times. But he aged really badly.

Likes of Lara , Abdev , Sachin finished off their careers in a much better state.
 
Viv was nearly 40 and when he was declining, he chose to retire. Which is the right thing to do. He’d led the team to great success since 1985, left a pretty settled batting line up that included Ritchie Richardson and Brian Lara. Nothing really left to accomplish.

Viv also never chased records - as Mikey Holding once said: if Viv was about records, he would have broken every record in the book.
 
TheSultan said:
Viv was nearly 40 and when he was declining, he chose to retire. Which is the right thing to do. He’d led the team to great success since 1985, left a pretty settled batting line up that included Ritchie Richardson and Brian Lara. Nothing really left to accomplish.

Viv also never chased records - as Mikey Holding once said: if Viv was about records, he would have broken every record in the book.
Click to expand...
Sachin was close t 40 as well. The point is that Viv's decline was really marked.
 
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