Selfish batting of Babar Azam will not let him fulfill his potential

[Oxfordchamp]

Halkay ajao! Babar daddy Azam had a rare off day hahaha he’s human not super man

Babar Azam pace of scoring in two days points:
2019: average 42 at SR 137 (10 games)
2020: average 55 at SR 145 (8 games)

Those are very strong numbers

Those 2020 numbers include 5 games against Zim and Bd and rest 3 games against England b team..so not impressive at all..

 

[Farabi]

Those 2020 numbers include 5 games against Zim and Bd and rest 3 games against England b team..so not impressive at all..

Lolol stop exaggerating! It’s not as if he’s the only one playing minnows. Those are baked into everyone’s stats lol
3 against Zim (2 innings)
2 against Bgl.
BUT
3 vs Eng
3 vs Aus
3 vs SA
3 vs SL

The SR is > 135 against all teams except, surprisingly SLK.

 

[Ab Fan]

Babar in T20s is just an accumulator. Same as Manish Pandey.

 

[Kroll]

He's okay, the whole team just didn't play well on the day.

 

[King_Kohli]

Halkay ajao! Babar daddy Azam had a rare off day hahaha he’s human not super man

Babar Azam pace of scoring in two days points:
2019: average 42 at SR 137 (10 games)
2020: average 55 at SR 145 (8 games)

Those are very strong numbers

In that 8 matches 3 against Bangla + 2 against Zim.
He played 2 against England with SR 127 & 116.

 

[Hawkeye]

Not a hidden fact now is it.

In T20s he's impact less and an accumulator.

 

[Farabi]

In that 8 matches 3 against Bangla + 2 against Zim.
He played 2 against England with SR 127 & 116.

I think Indians can accept by now that Pakistan now has a world class batsman at par with Kohli. It’s okay. Stop struggling to make weak arguments. Here’s interesting data for Kohli in T20s against same opposition to date
Vs Zim 123 SR
Vs Bgl 113 SR

Does this make Kohli slow? No! He’s an ATG and a great anchor for India in T20s. We can selectively pick data to pick argument that suit our insecurities

 

[dildilpak]

I think Indians can accept by now that Pakistan now has a world class batsman at par with Kohli. It’s okay. Stop struggling to make weak arguments. Here’s interesting data for Kohli in T20s against same opposition to date
Vs Zim 123 SR
Vs Bgl 113 SR

Does this make Kohli slow? No! He’s an ATG and a great anchor for India in T20s. We can selectively pick data to pick argument that suit our insecurities

Lol, of all the countries you picked out Zim & Bangladesh?

Everyone knows that Kohli needs time to get his feet in. But Kohli also is the master of pacing his innings, especially in a chase. He has a SR of 175 plus in the last 7 overs of T20 & his average SR is 140.

Babar Azam is good, but not Kohliesque good - he still needs to catch up on the art of pacing an innings in a difficult chase in white ball cricket.

 

[Master Blaster]

He is among let's boost my average instead of risking it to get the team across finish line kind of players.

Doing a solid job...

 

[naseem]

He is irreplaceable...but he is not out of criticism....failure to dispatch bad balls..os costing pak...in t20s....I fear the concern is real...and it's putting other batters under pressure....as a result they r loading wickets.....cheaply

 

[UzmanBeast]

Power hitting is a must.

I'd take Kohli above Babar any day of the week, just because he's a much better player with more range in almost every aspect.

T20 is about moving out of your comfort zone, only then will you develop new shots and understand how to play the game.

It's quite an interesting thing, but those who follow Kohli will know that it's only in recent times that he's developed that heck of a leg-side flick for 6. Before he used to dab it down to the ground, but if you see how he plays now, he is able to move in the line of the ball, and use his wrists to slap the ball over the boundary line. It's such an amazing shot, showcases his class.

Let's look at the strokes Babar uses for T20 cricket:
1. Cover/On/Straight drive along the ground - good strokes when the field is open, but not good for the powerplay when aerial strokes are needed.

2. Front-foot pull along the ground - again, it's a stroke along the ground so if it's for rotating strike, that's fine but it won't get him much when the powerplay is over.

3. Cut shot/sweep shots along the ground - yet again another set of strokes played along the ground, so for strike rotation and occasional boundary hitting it's fine, but not good enough for hard hitting.

4. The shot where he nudges the ball past the keeper - this is perhaps a very useful shot when done correctly, so I'll give him credit for it.

5. The harmless slog that he sometimes plays over long-on and usually gets caught. As suggested, it doesn't yield him many boundaries either.

6. The leg-side flick along the ground - good for running singles and doubles, will rarely fetch a boundary.

What does this shot selection explain? These are the 2010s must-have for ODI cricket, and it's true that they work but outside of ODI cricket, these shots don't work. It's quite surprising how he's managed to keep his SR at about 130 with such a limited shot selection, but the bottom line is that these shots aren't enough.

The facts are in front of us, these shots are just not good enough for T20s at this level. If Babar wants to improve his game, he needs to improve his shot selection and what better do to than sit down and watch how Kohli plays.

A few shots Kohli plays which Babar can replicate are:

1. Back foot pull - it is essential in the modern day and age, without it you won't do well against short-pitched bowling.

2. Most of the drives I mentioned, Kohli has the timing to play them in the air, and miraculously for six. This is where the true muscles and timing are required, and these shots are essential.

3. Hitting straight down the ground - this is a zone Kohli uses very well, and it's a good zone given that usually teams keep one player down at long-on/long-off.

4. Slog-sweep - he doesn't play it often but he can play if the need arises. Babar should learn how to play this stroke because he barely uses the leg-side against spinners.

5. The aerial flick - it might be a Kohli trademark that goes straight for six, but even if Babar can get it for four, it will be a good addition to his strokeplaying.

6. Slogging on the leg-side - Babar usually slogs on the off-side and because he's very good at strokes on that side, teams have protection there. He should also be able to slog the ball on the leg-side.

What Babar does when slogging is that he just tries to make contact. He needs to learn how to time the ball in that manner, and improve his power hitting. His bat lift is too low to be able to get the required distance, which is why we usually see him get caught right at the boundary. If he applied more power, those shots could easily be sixes. Secondly, he needs to be mobile and move around in the crease. Slogging doesn't mean that you stop moving your feet, you still need to get yourself in a good position, and when playing these shots, you need to make sure the bat rises up in a diagonal line, not that it whips across horizontally because that's how you play along the ground.

Basically, those are the things he needs to improve.

 

[ChTab]

Babar in T20's is not really a useful player, he should only open the innings in T20's because he can't hit big shots when the field is spread, he can do a decent job in power play because he can easily pick the gaps.

Rizwan as an opener is much more impactful as compared to Babar, Rizwan in his short T20 career has already played two very good match-wining knocks away, 1 vs NZ in NZ & the 2nd vs SA in the ongoing T20 series.

 

[Farabi]

Babar daddy hundred at 200+ SR
Thoughts

 

[Farabi]

I hope you’re doing okay watching a masterclass from the master!! Matching winning destructive 100 from daddy Babar.
Also ODIs:
Babar no 1
Kohli no 2

 

[RehanG]

Babar in T20's is not really a useful player, he should only open the innings in T20's because he can't hit big shots when the field is spread, he can do a decent job in power play because he can easily pick the gaps.

Rizwan as an opener is much more impactful as compared to Babar, Rizwan in his short T20 career has already played two very good match-wining knocks away, 1 vs NZ in NZ & the 2nd vs SA in the ongoing T20 series.

no comments

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Remarkable batting by the GOAT today.

It was the farthest thing from a selfish knock. Total non-stop bashing of the bowlers. Never slowed down for his hundred. Was smashing the ball just as well in the 90s.

Easily the greatest innings by a Pakistani batsman in T20 cricket.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Babar daddy hundred at 200+ SR
Thoughts

Thoughts? Have you forgotten that he’s playing against a B/C team?

Do we forget his last innings because he smashed a B team?

Do we now call Babar Azam a power-hitter because he smashed a B team?

Our fan base gets excited way too early, sometimes they make Mamoon look like Einstein.

 

[Line and Length]

Hahahahah. Some of the posts in this thread have aged like milk. The selfish Babar scored a match-winning 122 today and goes to #1 in the ODI rankings as well. All the haters should take at least a month or two off to recover from this.

 

[Canistani Hero]

Fantastic innings.

 

[Raja Ishtiaq]

Babar is the last person we should criticise in this team. I dont understand our fanbase.

 

[Bewal Express]

Babar is the last person we should criticise in this team. I dont understand our fanbase.

Expectations are so high that any poor innings is seized upon.

 

[UnCleUbeR]

You know what I still don’t understand is why you haven’t been banned from this forum. A blatant troll like you should not have any place in a forum like this. You have no analysis and just simple opinion and hatred. A guy just scored a HUNDRED in t20 at over 200 strike rate chasing a score of over 200 and all u come up with this. Mods, this is poor trolling job and you should look into this. Even the commentators were in awe of this performance and our so called keyboard warriors come up with the lamest excuse to not only downgrade this performance bit flat out humiliate it by including Misbah and Younis in the same breath as Babar.

Need I remind you that Misbah couldn’t even score a century in ODIs let alone in T20I. I have been reading the comments here for quite some tome and do not post much but I tell, Mamoon comes up with the worst of excuses to justify his outrageous claims and remarks.

 

[Titan24]

Was really selfish today, didnt let his other teammates bat.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

In Babar, we finally have an actual elite batter in our side for all formats since Yousaf(t20is were barely played those days). Please don't go down the wrong path now and keep improving. Our cricket needs you.

We should also remove the tag of "junior" from him now. He has played for 5 years consistently now and except (to a degree) in Tests, he is nowhere inexperienced. Now he should be backbone and main guy of the team. Kane Williamson in 2015 (with 5 year experience had established himself as a senior and one of the main guys of the team, same with Kohli in 2014, Joe Root in 2017 and Steve Smith in 2015)

Now he needs to keep the curve moving up.

Just the point of my post is that Pak has a habit of giving a lot of leeway for the failures and lack of improvement in the performance and growth of players in the name of inexperience and young. For example, Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Imam, Shan Masood, Rahat Ali etc etc)

 

[Kaddy]

It's not selfish. He just doesn't seem to have the ability to accelerate.

100 (49)

 

[CricketAnalyst]

Babar seems to be improving his SR gradually, and understanding he needs to pick up the scoring.

It doesn't seem to be a capability issue any more, so that's a good sign for Pakistan. Finally, Pakistan has a genuinely elite batsman who is also consistent and undroppable. The rest of the batting is pretty flimsy, but at least they bat deep, don't have many selfish batters and have excellent bowling, so good signs for Pakistan cricket going forward.

 

[naseem]

Captain Fantastic......is turning things around....

 

[MHN1293]

Babar seems to be improving his SR gradually, and understanding he needs to pick up the scoring.

It doesn't seem to be a capability issue any more, so that's a good sign for Pakistan. Finally, Pakistan has a genuinely elite batsman who is also consistent and undroppable. The rest of the batting is pretty flimsy, but at least they bat deep, don't have many selfish batters and have excellent bowling, so good signs for Pakistan cricket going forward.

His Sr would have similar to kohlis by now had he not played so much games in the uae where 120 125 sr is par. His pace game is also better than spin.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Power hitting is a must.

I'd take Kohli above Babar any day of the week, just because he's a much better player with more range in almost every aspect.

T20 is about moving out of your comfort zone, only then will you develop new shots and understand how to play the game.

It's quite an interesting thing, but those who follow Kohli will know that it's only in recent times that he's developed that heck of a leg-side flick for 6. Before he used to dab it down to the ground, but if you see how he plays now, he is able to move in the line of the ball, and use his wrists to slap the ball over the boundary line. It's such an amazing shot, showcases his class.

Let's look at the strokes Babar uses for T20 cricket:
1. Cover/On/Straight drive along the ground - good strokes when the field is open, but not good for the powerplay when aerial strokes are needed.

2. Front-foot pull along the ground - again, it's a stroke along the ground so if it's for rotating strike, that's fine but it won't get him much when the powerplay is over.

3. Cut shot/sweep shots along the ground - yet again another set of strokes played along the ground, so for strike rotation and occasional boundary hitting it's fine, but not good enough for hard hitting.

4. The shot where he nudges the ball past the keeper - this is perhaps a very useful shot when done correctly, so I'll give him credit for it.

5. The harmless slog that he sometimes plays over long-on and usually gets caught. As suggested, it doesn't yield him many boundaries either.

6. The leg-side flick along the ground - good for running singles and doubles, will rarely fetch a boundary.

What does this shot selection explain? These are the 2010s must-have for ODI cricket, and it's true that they work but outside of ODI cricket, these shots don't work. It's quite surprising how he's managed to keep his SR at about 130 with such a limited shot selection, but the bottom line is that these shots aren't enough.

The facts are in front of us, these shots are just not good enough for T20s at this level. If Babar wants to improve his game, he needs to improve his shot selection and what better do to than sit down and watch how Kohli plays.

A few shots Kohli plays which Babar can replicate are:

1. Back foot pull - it is essential in the modern day and age, without it you won't do well against short-pitched bowling.

2. Most of the drives I mentioned, Kohli has the timing to play them in the air, and miraculously for six. This is where the true muscles and timing are required, and these shots are essential.

3. Hitting straight down the ground - this is a zone Kohli uses very well, and it's a good zone given that usually teams keep one player down at long-on/long-off.

4. Slog-sweep - he doesn't play it often but he can play if the need arises. Babar should learn how to play this stroke because he barely uses the leg-side against spinners.

5. The aerial flick - it might be a Kohli trademark that goes straight for six, but even if Babar can get it for four, it will be a good addition to his strokeplaying.

6. Slogging on the leg-side - Babar usually slogs on the off-side and because he's very good at strokes on that side, teams have protection there. He should also be able to slog the ball on the leg-side.

What Babar does when slogging is that he just tries to make contact. He needs to learn how to time the ball in that manner, and improve his power hitting. His bat lift is too low to be able to get the required distance, which is why we usually see him get caught right at the boundary. If he applied more power, those shots could easily be sixes. Secondly, he needs to be mobile and move around in the crease. Slogging doesn't mean that you stop moving your feet, you still need to get yourself in a good position, and when playing these shots, you need to make sure the bat rises up in a diagonal line, not that it whips across horizontally because that's how you play along the ground.

Basically, those are the things he needs to improve.

That bunt off yorkers to third man boundary is Babar's innovation.

I have not seen anyone pull that shot off before and Babar has now pulled that stroke multiple times with authority.

I can see Babar's name attached with that shot, this would be a shot that would have Babar's copyrights. Similar shots recognised by batsmen names are:
1. Dilshan - Dilscoop
2. Dhoni - Helicopter shot
3. Tendulkar - Straight drive
4. Warner/Pietersen - Switch hit
5. Sehwag - Upper Cut

I might have missed some shots but these are the guys who made these shots famous and likewise I see Babar getting recognition for those bunts off yorkers.

 

[UzmanBeast]

That bunt off yorkers to third man boundary is Babar's innovation.

I have not seen anyone pull that shot off before and Babar has now pulled that stroke multiple times with authority.

I can see Babar's name attached with that shot, this would be a shot that would have Babar's copyrights. Similar shots recognised by batsmen names are:
1. Dilshan - Dilscoop
2. Dhoni - Helicopter shot
3. Tendulkar - Straight drive
4. Warner/Pietersen - Switch hit
5. Sehwag - Upper Cut

I might have missed some shots but these are the guys who made these shots famous and likewise I see Babar getting recognition for those bunts off yorkers.

Agreed, Babar does certainly have a stroke to his name which he plays with full authority.

 

[badsha001]

That's dumb because by that logic, the entire team needs to be kicked out.

And replace him with whom? Give names and not generic answers

Kick all of the batsmen if they can't hit 6s at will. A good batsman has the ability to hit a six against a good bowler and good ball (think of Razzaq, Dhoni and somewhat Kohli). Any batsman can hit a six against a poor bowler and poor ball.

 

[MenInG]

Was Babar handicapped by his own desire to get easy runs today?

 

[YousafTheBeast]

100 (49)

41 off 45 vs Zimbabwe B

 

[Mamoon]

Today he was certainly selfish.

He was playing for his half-century but life comes at you fast.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Joe Root is a similar player to Babar Azam in T20’s. England got rid of him because he didn’t fit in the team. He could only play as an opener or a No.3, but they had better players to play in those positions.

Sharjeel Khan and Fakhar Zaman are made for T20’s. They’re better openers. Rizwan is Pakistan’s best WK batsman right now, he can’t play lower than 3.

There’s no place for Babar in T20’s, sadly our fans won’t see this because Babar scored a meaningless 100 against a weak South Africa team.

 

[Ab Fan]

After his performance Vs SA in final T20s, I have decided that now I will put Babar at slightly higher level to Manish Pandey. Hence, I would put him at same level to Shreyas Iyer in T20s now.

 

[shaz619]

Selfish batting can go a long way, just ask Sachin. Babar is a superior version of Sachin Tendulkar

 

[The lone Ranger]

Babar remainds me of Mohammad Kaif who was always torturous to watch and rarely played less than run a ball knock.
Babar's SR is too low for modern day cricket. Once again single handedly defeated Pakistan against Zimbabwe by playing a selfish knock which put pressure on others and cost them the match. Imagine fab 4 playing a match losing knock against Zimbabwe of all teams!!!!

 

[Last Monetarist]

Bogged down again today, no real excuse for a supposed elite player to bat in such a manner against a minnow attack.

 

[Last Monetarist]

50 off 44 balls.

As soon as there's no pace on the ball, he struggles to hit it off the square.

 

[Ab Fan]

Pakistan's main problem stands here. Their two best batsman in T20s have strike rates of 125 and 129, which are Babar and Rizwan. A strike rate under 130 in not acceptable in T20s irrespective of what you average.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Absurd really... He's an Akmal after all

 

[marlonbrowndo]

I remember cringing so hard looking at Facebook after his 100 against South Africa D. Our fans are so deluded it’s unbelievable

 

[zarak]

Today he was certainly selfish.

He was playing for his half-century but life comes at you fast.

Don't think so. He couldn't get his timing on this slow track and was struggling.

 

[adzzy786]

He’s not selfish and you can see that he is trying his best.

He is not a slogger and not that kind of batsmen. He does need to improve the big hitting aspect of his game but he’s not that type of player. He is more of a stroke maker and not a big hitter. I think we see it more as we don’t have any big hitters so we need him to play every role.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Don’t think it’s selfishness at all

 

[TheNightWatchman]

He's not selfish. He just lacks the skill or ability. You can see him trying to time it. Hes just horrible at power hitting.

 

[Zaz]

Nothing selfish about it These wickets are slow n boundaries big You cant blast away on these grounds

He knows this total would be a winning one He made sure pakistan got to it after last t20s fiasco

Job well done

 

[90MPH]

He’s not a great batsman on 2 pace wickets.

However it was nothing to do with selfishness.

We want him to Improve of course but it’s absurd and embarrassing how some of our fans are focused on him and forget about the gutter we have in the middle.

 

[Saj]

I think his innings today probably showed how much faith he has in the middle-order and how much he trusts them.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

I think his innings today probably showed how much faith he has in the middle-order and how much he trusts them.

That’s still on him. Was he afraid of exposing the middle order in the last 2 overs as well?

 

[90MPH]

That’s still on him. Was he afraid of exposing the middle order in the last 2 overs as well?

Probably, don’t blame him after the last showing

 

[Saj]

That’s still on him. Was he afraid of exposing the middle order in the last 2 overs as well?

I guess so, if your tail starts at number 4/5 (as Inzi said)

 

[shah_1]

He is rubbish on slow pitches as simple as that

 

[Amjid Javed]

awful inns today by babar, one of the worst ever seen in history of T20 games.

 

[Bewal Express]

Far too orthodox for far too long today. Its as if he can't break his template to slog when it's needed. It doesn't help that he fears collapses by the dross that follows him.

 

[Majid Khan]

That’s some luxury to have , a batsman in Babar Azam having a ‘bad day’ at the office still managing to score a 50 at faster than a run-a-ball.

It’s the same kind of performance that would have cemented a batsman like Hafeez’s place in the batting line up for the next 6 months at least.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

0(1) better than 50(46) in t20s

 

[Bewal Express]

0(1) better than 50(46) in t20s

Not always. Context matters

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

he cant slog, he needs pace, simple as that. Not selfish just limited

 

[Fazzy321]

0(1) better than 50(46) in t20s

Looking at Pakistan middle order 50(46) is defo better

 

[Ahmed216]

Our fans are pathetic.Inability to power hit doesnt make him selfish

 

[90MPH]

0(1) better than 50(46) in t20s

Totally wrong, especially if you don’t take the conditions like the pitch and how big the ground is into the equation.

It wasn’t a great innings by any stretch but not the worst either and in fact turned out to be decent foil for Rizwan.

 

[90MPH]

Our fans are pathetic.Inability to power hit doesnt make him selfish

Some of our fans don’t know what a pitch is and how much of a part that plays and then also don’t a-knowledge how big the boundaries can be.

That’s what happens If you keep watching 20/20 circular leagues and nothing else. Your perspective becomes limited and you learn less about the finer details.

 

[Zaz]

Only the result matters Pakistan won the game so in the context it was a very good innings

 

[Abdurmirr]

Wow people really go all out to defend Babar. I honestly do like the guy, he's the best talent to come out of Pakistan for a long time however it can't be denied that he lacks the ability to hit a 3rd gear.

We saw this in the 3rd ODI against South Africa were he failed to hit multiple part time spinner out of the attack in the death, we saw this in a few of the T20s against South Africa were once again when the bowlers were hitting a good line and length and not giving him any room to hit, he struggled to find the boundary and his strike dropped to 100 in the death. We saw this last game where he batted well under a strike rate of 100 in a t20 after facing 40 balls.

No matter how slow or sluggish the pitch is, that is unacceptable for any T20 batsmen, nonetheless the number "2" ranked batsmen in the world.

Yes Babar is a very good player however he is also lacks the ability to dominate the game consistently and in circumstances when the bowling is at a decent standard, he falters big time.

 

[Abdullah Rabbani]

Joe Root is a similar player to Babar Azam in T20’s. England got rid of him because he didn’t fit in the team. He could only play as an opener or a No.3, but they had better players to play in those positions.

Sharjeel Khan and Fakhar Zaman are made for T20’s. They’re better openers. Rizwan is Pakistan’s best WK batsman right now, he can’t play lower than 3.

There’s no place for Babar in T20’s, sadly our fans won’t see this because Babar scored a meaningless 100 against a weak South Africa team.

How you comparing these sloggers with bobby and riz, if these tuller are our openers surely we lose even against uganda

 

[Abdullah Rabbani]

Babar remainds me of Mohammad Kaif who was always torturous to watch and rarely played less than run a ball knock.
Babar's SR is too low for modern day cricket. Once again single handedly defeated Pakistan against Zimbabwe by playing a selfish knock which put pressure on others and cost them the match. Imagine fab 4 playing a match losing knock against Zimbabwe of all teams!!!!

Babar have best strike among fab 4 except kohli against top 6

 

[street cricketer]

Babar is selfish only if you put on the nationalistic lens and start thinking Babar is our best player, so he has to better than India's best player. Keeping all this parochialism out of the game, purely from a cricketing perspective, one can easily see that Babar and Kohli are two different types of players. Kohli probably more in the Ponting mould than Sachin.

While Babar is more in the mould of someone like Hashim Amla, but only more elegant. Babar, like Amla, is a classy batsman who can have an excellent test career and LOI career, but probably doesn't have the high gears similar to Amla. I do however think he has the potential to become someone like Kane Williamson, who also doesn't necessarily have the highest gears as a batsman, but is someone who can score at a brisk rate using purely his stroke making skills.

I wrote this about Babar two months back. I still hold the same opinion with respect to Babar. He is not a selfish batsman, it's just that he is not a six hitter. There are essentially two types of batsmen in T20 cricket - accumulators and hitters. Both have their pros and cons. Accumulators have a lesser false shot percentage and better shot control, more consistent and better average but on the flip side, do not score as fast as the hitters. Babar belongs to this category. Amla, Faf, Root, etc., also belong to this category.

Hitters on the other hand, score more quickly and therefore can influence and impact the game more in a short space of time, basically they can win the game on their own if they have a good day. On the negative side, they have a higher false shot percentage, therefore are more prone to getting out and have a slightly lower average. Bairstow, Buttler, Roy and pretty much every batsman in England's line up, Russell, Pandya, Maxwell, Russell, Fakhar, etc. belong to this category. The likes of Kohli, Rohit, etc. fall somewhere between both categories.

The ideal T20 batsman is a batsman who can find the balance between the average and strike rate, leaning more towards the strike rate side. A batsman averaging 50 with a strike rate of 130 is less impactful than a batsman averaging 30 but with a strike rate of 150 in T20 cricket. England has made the concept of the accumulator batsman somewhat redundant which is why Root cannot find a place for himself in the English team. That said, they do have a role on slow and sluggish wickets where hitters generally tend to mistime the ball more and lose their wickets while accumulator with his higher shot control percentage is sort of a bankable player to get you to a decent total. In short, Babar would be a liability in a team like England on typical T20 wickets where 200 is par but he would be a luxury in the same English team on slow and sluggish wickets. Pakistan do not have guys like Roy, Bairstow and Buttler and therefore Babar is a luxury player for them regardless of the nature of the wicket.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

OK so here goes.

He has all the ingredients to last 20 overs or 50 overs and post large scores. That already makes him indispensable.

His appetite for runs is endless. That is another plus.

He has a decent Strike rate (SR 129) which is constantly going up.

Unlike Kane Williamson with similar strike rates to Babar (SR 124) or Kohli (SR 139), his problem is that he doesn't have six hitting batters around him. So his risk taking is compromised.

He will add sixes in his arsenal. He is that good a batsman.

Chill.

 

[iiqbal]

OK so here goes.

He has all the ingredients to last 20 overs or 50 overs and post large scores. That already makes him indispensable.

His appetite for runs is endless. That is another plus.

He has a decent Strike rate (SR 129) which is constantly going up.

Unlike Kane Williamson with similar strike rates to Babar (SR 124) or Kohli (SR 139), his problem is that he doesn't have six hitting batters around him. So his risk taking is compromised.

He will add sixes in his arsenal. He is that good a batsman.

Chill.

Kohli has played most of his matches on dead pitches of india. So this point should also consider. As home side have lots of advantage of home condition.

 

[Saj]

That’s some luxury to have , a batsman in Babar Azam having a ‘bad day’ at the office still managing to score a 50 at faster than a run-a-ball.

It’s the same kind of performance that would have cemented a batsman like Hafeez’s place in the batting line up for the next 6 months at least.

MK I think Babar probably has more faith in the likes of Hasan Ali with the bat than some of our current middle-order options. And that will no doubt be playing on his mind.

I mean when you have some of the legends available to us these days coming in the middle-order, it's not surprise that Rizwan and Babar try to bat most of the overs.

 

[Mercurial]

Nothing selfish about his style of play, he can accelerate as well. No one is perfect.

 

[shamaan]

Pakistan won the game and the runs he got didn't cost pakistan a victory.
good innings in the context of the game.

 

[Monsee]

Parosis are acting as if all their batsmen are averaging 50+ in T20I's with SR well above 130...their only batsman who is worth better than Babar is Kohli, rest average at least 10-15 (mostly even less than that) runs less per innings than Babar and barely have earth shattering SR's. I mean if highest SR was the only criteria, than how come Afridi was always made fun of?

And for Pakistani nashukrays, you do deserve players like Hafeez, Salamn Butt etc. who on their day looked like Bradman but other 99 days out of 100 batted worse than tail enders!

 

[Saj]

Very strange innings today against MS.

Seems to have left attacking the opposition too late, unless he and his team-mates can go berserk in the last few overs.

 

[Ab Fan]

He will forever be considered just a very good limited over batsman because he doesn't have the versatility and ruthlessness to hit the top level.

His legacy will be decided by what he does in tests. If he can play some memorable test knocks and average 50+ in test cricket, he will go down as one of Pakistan's best ever.

 

[Saj]

Babar Azam's innings today:

51 off the first 47 balls
34 off the last 16 balls

 

[Kroll]

A masterclass of how not to do a run chase by the golden boy.

 

[King-Misbah]

A masterclass of how not to do a run chase by the golden boy.

When are you getting your pads on? Babar will get better as the tournament progresses.