[VIDEO] How have Pakistan managed to produce Babar Azam?

[Varun]

He has a level head on his shoulders, has not got starry eyed after a taste of success, and carries their batting in both formats alongside being a good fielder and an organic captaincy candidate. Basically the anti-thesis of a modern Pakistani cricketer.

Law of averages, or is there some method to Pakistan's domestic cricket madness after all?

 

[delpiero10]

It seems even more crazy when you consider that he is a cousin of the Akmals.

 

[Relic]

He's an anomaly. Not that we can't produce more Babar Azams, it's the attitude that we can't replicate.
Babar doesn't run after money (unlike his cousin) so he gives more time to his game.
Babar is what we wanted Umar to be but the fame really got to him

 

[Stark]

Galti se mishtake ho gaya?

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Anomaly. I hope captaincy does not impact his batting.

 

[Mamoon]

He is from a cricket family and has been under PCB’s wing since he was 13. He is very talented as also hard working, so it is a collection of many factors.

 

[Pete Rose]

The system can only do so much for you. The rest is on you as an individual. He works hard, and there’s no avoiding that

 

[Varun]

Anomaly. I hope captaincy does not impact his batting.

He should do a Sachin and refuse captaincy.

Captaining a team as volatile as Pakistan is the beginning of a slippery slope anyway. Let the ex-players sharpen their knives for some other poor sod.

 

[sweep_shot]

I think Babar has the potential to become the best Pakistani batsman of all time. It is why he shouldn't be burdened with captaincy.

Captaining Pakistan is not an easy job. It should be given to someone else.

I get the vibe that he is a very hardworking cricketer and he is an extremely well-coached player. It is why he is performing well.

 

[HGhazanfar]

He is the player he is because he is a cousin of the Akmals, at a young age (when he was around 12) he got to train along them and practise with them. Learn from them, developed a strong game when he was around 16, he was scoring decent runs in first class and under 19.

 

[MMHS]

He was lucky.

Don’t get me wrong, I admire him, but he was extremely fortunate that his entry to PAK cricket started just when Arthur took charge and it continued for 3+ years - every criticism intact, Arthur is a brilliant, brilliant coach for skill development, particularly batting skills. He was the guy instrumental in developing three-four other batsmen, namely Abraham de Vallièrs, Hashim Amal, Faf de Plusis, Dean Elgar ......

To his credit, Babar did put lots of hard work and I am sure he has a far, faaaaaar better listening habit than most PAK players, but it was Arthur’s guidance that worked magic. This is not new actually - Bob Woolmer took charge in 2003, and for next 4 years, performance of MoYo, YK and 35+ Inzi should indicate what a top class professional coach can do to a batsman with right attitude and skill set. For Babar’s case, it was more effective, because the association started at the right time, age. Not only Babar, I am impressed with Imam as well - didn't expect him to put such numbers, regardless of the quality of his opponents.


On contrary, I can bet my house - Babar Azam with Guru Misbah, WY, MHK or Basit Ali .... at helm, won’t have been even the player where UAkmal ended.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I say it is pure self-drive. He has ambitions. He works hard towards realizing it. In about 2 or 3 years we will know what his peak is. If he can scale peaks like Moyo did that will inspire new generation of players.

 

[Markhor]

The system occasionally throws up some anomalies.

Babar's hard work and Mickey overseeing his development were the crucial factors.

 

[Sir-fraz]

He is the player he is because he is a cousin of the Akmals, at a young age (when he was around 12) he got to train along them and practise with them. Learn from them, developed a strong game when he was around 16, he was scoring decent runs in first class and under 19.

Lol thats the most absurd argument ive ever heard.

Babar is clearly cut from a different cloth, he has hte right mindset to go with an unbelieveable work ethic.

The only place where he had luck was when he debuted, which was at the perfect time under mickey arthur.

He learned from a professional coach who recognized that babar and to some extent imam were the only coachable batsmen in the pakistan team.

We have all seen how azhar and asad developed under misbah....

 

[Realromeo]

He has a level head on his shoulders, has not got starry eyed after a taste of success, and carries their batting in both formats alongside being a good fielder and an organic captaincy candidate. Basically the anti-thesis of a modern Pakistani cricketer.

Law of averages, or is there some method to Pakistan's domestic cricket madness after all?

Unlike Indian cricketers, Pakistanis don't always come from middle, upper-middle class and some even from very smaller towns. Cricket in India is still a big city thing, in Pakistan it is not always the case. Hence you see lot of immaturity with Pakistani cricketers. Babar Azam is from a cricketing family, what would you expect elsewhere ?

 

[Zaz]

Its the personal drive and focus that has seperated babar from his pakistani peers

Talent can only take you so far Most pakistani batsmen stop working hard when they come into the team They either become lazy or feel like they are big stars already

Babar unlike most has a sound head and is dedicated to his craft 100%everything else is 2ndary Its his hard work that has got him to where he is today

 

[Shazzam]

We got extremely lucky with this one. He looks like a Indian batsmen not Pakistani.

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

Unlike Indian cricketers, Pakistanis don't always come from middle, upper-middle class and some even from very smaller towns. Cricket in India is still a big city thing, in Pakistan it is not always the case. Hence you see lot of immaturity with Pakistani cricketers.

Umar Akmal is from Lahore. Is Lahore considered a very small town in Pakistan?

 

[Barragan]

Micky Arthur.

 

[Relic]

Umar Akmal is from Lahore. Is Lahore considered a very small town in Pakistan?

Yeah

 

[hadiimam]

Completely Agree!

Micky Arthur.

Most people here love to s**t on Micky and not that he didn't have his faults but he played a huge role in sticking by Babar to make sure he progresses!

I remember a lot of people initially saying he Babar is too slow for T20s, but Micky persisted with Babar! Babar also had a rough patch with tests, he was unable to score even in UAE but Micky still stuck by him!

Micky gave Babar the kinda support Bob Woolmer gave to YK. I hope Babar doesn't have to go through what YK went through with the coaches and team after Woolmer!

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

The system can only do so much for you. The rest is on you as an individual. He works hard, and there’s no avoiding that

Came here to say this. Babar looks like a hardworking fella; that's what separates him rest of mediocre Pakistani "batsmen".

 

[MMHS]

Unlike Indian cricketers, Pakistanis don't always come from middle, upper-middle class and some even from very smaller towns. Cricket in India is still a big city thing, in Pakistan it is not always the case. Hence you see lot of immaturity with Pakistani cricketers. Babar Azam is from a cricketing family, what would you expect elsewhere ?

Your point is valid, but implication is completely opposite. It's the star bowlers who are coming from small towns or even villages - Mo Asif, Amir, JK, Shinwari, Yasir ..... in olden days WY, Saq, Mo Zahid .... and they are quite good actually, at least to start with; had been brilliant in past. Here the discussion is about batsmen and some of the biggest failures are from mega cities - Umar, Amin, Ahmed, Azhar, Asad, Hafeez, ...... even from the house of Javed Miandad.

I don't think that example is appropriate - Babar himself is a hard worker, dedicated pro with listening habit and he has a functional brain .... these raw elements were installed into a systemic package by Arthur. Would it had worked for Umar or Shehzad - I doubt, you need attitude for that. One of the old iconic photos I saw (actually, kept in my desk for long time to inspire my club's young boys) was a school kid in full cricket gear in scorching Mumbai heat, listening minutely to an old guy - Ramakant Achrekar - the concentration, the passion, the dedication, the obedience was evident even in that black & white still photo. ....... you take Umar Akmal or Shehzad to the best coach in world - I doubt if they'll allow to compete one full sentence - this is attitude problem, doesn't matter from where you are coming.

 

[Barragan]

Most people here love to s**t on Micky and not that he didn't have his faults but he played a huge role in sticking by Babar to make sure he progresses!

I remember a lot of people initially saying he Babar is too slow for T20s, but Micky persisted with Babar! Babar also had a rough patch with tests, he was unable to score even in UAE but Micky still stuck by him!

Micky gave Babar the kinda support Bob Woolmer gave to YK. I hope Babar doesn't have to go through what YK went through with the coaches and team after Woolmer!

Yep, he persisted with him through his toughest phase of his career, when even fans were calling him "overhyped" and what not.

 

[BaankeJi]

Unlike Indian cricketers, Pakistanis don't always come from middle, upper-middle class and some even from very smaller towns. Cricket in India is still a big city thing, in Pakistan it is not always the case. Hence you see lot of immaturity with Pakistani cricketers. Babar Azam is from a cricketing family, what would you expect elsewhere ?

You mean to say that Pakistani cricketers come from a lower middle class or even poorer family background ? Or you have used "class" to grade cities only?

 

[kingusama92]

1) He was a child prodigy (was already dominating older players as a young teen)
2) He's incredibly hard-working when it comes to improving/refining his batting
3) He's a humble, chilled-out guy (which is key due to the pressure of being a star in PAK)

He's a player that would do well in any system and Pakistan has often relied on guys like this. It's pretty sad if you think about it. You often get a player like this every 15-20 years but the system has to feed supporting talent to build around them. Unfortunately, Pakistan has too often relied on these miraculous ready-made stars to fill the squad. It may work here and there (i.e. 1990s) but usually you are left with a one-man show like we see today.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Mickey freaking Arthur.

Pakistanis don't know what they have until they lose it. Heads in the clouds, feet haven't left the ground.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Mickey freaking Arthur.

Pakistanis don't know what they have until they lose it. Heads in the clouds, feet haven't left the ground.

The Mickey Arthur lovers on this forum are getting really annoying. His tactics were poor, be didn't play spinners.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

The Mickey Arthur lovers on this forum are getting really annoying. His tactics were poor, be didn't play spinners.

He did play spinners, just not the right ones. He was not responsible for that. Inzi and Tauseef were. Mickey doesn't have a lot of experience with spinners. This is where he needed guidance from selectors which he didn't get.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

He did play spinners, just not the right ones. He was not responsible for that. Inzi and Tauseef were. Mickey doesn't have a lot of experience with spinners. This is where he needed guidance from selectors which he didn't get.

Maybe, but I was really really annoyed when Yasir Shah got picked vs England for ODIs and Zafar Gohar never played any tests. Or any decent SLAO. Or when we played 3 spinners Vs SL in uae. Are you sure that was entirely inzis fault?

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Maybe, but I was really really annoyed when Yasir Shah got picked vs England for ODIs and Zafar Gohar never played any tests. Or any decent SLAO. Or when we played 3 spinners Vs SL in uae. Are you sure that was entirely inzis fault?

Like I said, he doesn't have much experience with quality spinners. He didn't receive the guidance he needed. Tauseef wasn't doing his job and he has to be blamed heavily.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

He’s basically umar Akmal 2.0

His innings yesterday shows his class

 

[Roaring40s]

Bad captain? bad coach? bad selectors?

Odd good/ATG level cricketers will still come through the system. Sometimes even entire good teams when the combination clicks luckily.

Look at our T20 side-

Pathetic selections over the years. Akshar, Rayudu etc once in lifetime minnowbasher Karthik - over the hill seniors previously in Dhoni, Yuvi and age-forged Raina. Picking the wrong player for the format - Rahane, Dhawan. Picking the wrong Pandya (like wrong Akmal). Dropping the best T20 batsman in the country for his performances in other formats.

A captain who ran to Dhoni for every on field decision.

Neglecting youngsters who do well in the premier domestic tournament in the same format. Hooda, Rana, Samson, Surya, Shreyas - the list is very long. They'll probably get their chances when they approach 30. Already happened with Kedar, Mayank.

Wasting valuable long format resources on chaddi format - Bumrah, Shami.

Conflict of interest clause is new - but how many team India coaches were hot commodity for IPL franchises?

Seems like in Int T20s we have committed every crime PCT management had ever done and some more.

And with all these our last two T20WC performances are

Lost in semi final
Lost in Final

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Remove all the old garbage, replace them with all the young talent and have them follow Babar, whether it be eating habits, sleeping habits, the TV shows he watches.

The rest of the TTF are all bad influences. I wish we kept Mickey but Misbah and Waqar are going to surround potentially the best batsmen in our history with utter garbage.

Ali, Shafiq, Shan (who is only there due to nepotism) need to be out.

Rizwan scored a near century and was wrongly given out, so he has a long leash.

Imam has a game built for test cricket, so he deserves a leash as well.

Drop Yasir and put in Raza Hasan or Zafar Gohar.

We have two stars with the bat and ball and we are wasting them away.

Misbah and co better not screw this up. I would rather 100 all out with a young squad who at least have growth potential instead of 110 all out with a bunch of 30 year old never beens.

 

[mastermind_quad]

One thing I can say about Babar is that he is definitely not having any superstar syndrome which affected lots and lots of Pakistani talented players and they were never fulfilled there potential including some of those who actually hailed as superstars.

I wish and hope Babar continue to do what he is working right now that is scoring and working on his game day in day out.

 

[Captain caveman]

Rathet condescending thread from our indian friend.

 

[Captain caveman]

Rathet condescending thread from our indian friend.

Pakistan has produced superior batsman
Than babar


Saeed anwar
M. Yousuf
Inzi
Miandad
Just to name 4.

 

[Birdman]

Babar is a good batsman, but he has not done much in Test cricket to considered great, yet. Reason why Babar looks like a superstar is because of the mediocre batsmen in his team, that are making him look good.

Babar has great potential and talent to go on and become a great batsman, but we can’t measure success based on potential or what could have been. Miandad is the best Pakistani batsman, I have seen.

 

[angrypathan]

Pakistan has produced superior batsman
Than babar


Saeed anwar
M. Yousuf
Inzi
Miandad
Just to name 4.

If Babar's career trajectory continues the way it is he will easily surpass all of them except Miandad, and if he really makes the most of his ability then Miandad as well

 

[Swing]

Forget that, I still can't believe he's related to the Akmal brothers.

 

[pillionrider]

1) He was a child prodigy (was already dominating older players as a young teen)
2) He's incredibly hard-working when it comes to improving/refining his batting
3) He's a humble, chilled-out guy (which is key due to the pressure of being a star in PAK)

Yeah and Point 1 is probably the most important. The basic quality needed to be there and then the system whatever it's worth took over.

Remember watching him during an U-19 WC where Pak reached the final and lost to Australia. He was prolific during that and was around 15 if I recall correctly.

He is the player he is because he is a cousin of the Akmals, at a young age (when he was around 12) he got to train along them and practise with them.

This definitely would have helped. It might have been double-edged cuz I can just imagine an Umar Akmal talking down to Babar, but Babar looks like he swallows his ego and keeps his game the main priority.

 

[ARK Rafay]

He is talented and was properly groomed unfortunately, otherwise pcb and management make sure a player gets destroyed.

 

[Gullycricket]

He has kept working on his game....Seriously the only reason to watch Pak cricket now.
I will also add a follow up question about how we removed Mickey as coach and put two clowns as coaches?

 

[Relic]

All Babar has to do now is score a double century in the next innings and make up for his missed hundred.

Rather than him getting out, I'd say the bigger threat will be him losing partners too quickly

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Most hard working batsmen in pakistan.

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

Forget that, I still can't believe he's related to the Akmal brothers.

I only found that out today but I always thought he looked like the Akmals so it's not really surprising.

 

[run-out]

Babar Azam trending in india

 

[Varun]

Babar Azam trending in india
View attachment 97451

We like our batsmen.

 

[RajBan]

Unlike Indian cricketers, Pakistanis don't always come from middle, upper-middle class and some even from very smaller towns. Cricket in India is still a big city thing, in Pakistan it is not always the case. Hence you see lot of immaturity with Pakistani cricketers. Babar Azam is from a cricketing family, what would you expect elsewhere ?

This is not true since Yuvraj days. You have plenty of good players from towns who have a long career since then.

 

[Mamoon]

Not surprised to see people giving Arthur excessive credit. It is a Pakistani thing to do. We always give more credit to the mentor than the person himself.

Same reason why Imran Khan seems to own the success of Wasim, Waqar and Inzamam.

Babar would have been better than the other Pakistani batsmen of his era with or without Arthur. He has always been the standout batsman in his team at every level and had un-Pakistani traits from the beginning.

He was being touted as the next big thing for Pakistan by 2008, while the likes of Umar and Shehzad were playing for Pakistan U-19. He was actually more hyped than those two even at 13.

Babar also showed his ability from his very first game for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 2015, and then he followed it up with a half-century against England in the UAE and an 80 odd against New Zealand in New Zealand in Jan 2016. Arthur was nowhere near the Pakistan team at that point.

Arthur’s presence coincided with Babar’s formative years. It is only natural that his batting improved during those years. While it would be wrong to say that Arthur played no role his development, it is also wrong to say that he owes everything to him.

 

[MRSN]

Forget that, I still can't believe he's related to the Akmal brothers.

to be honest, batting with Akmals definitely polished his skills. You can see some shots of Akmals in his batting.

 

[MRSN]

Not surprised to see people giving Arthur excessive credit. It is a Pakistani thing to do. We always give more credit to the mentor than the person himself.

Same reason why Imran Khan seems to own the success of Wasim, Waqar and Inzamam.

Babar would have been better than the other Pakistani batsmen of his era with or without Arthur. He has always been the standout batsman in his team at every level and had un-Pakistani traits from the beginning.

He was being touted as the next big thing for Pakistan by 2008, while the likes of Umar and Shehzad were playing for Pakistan U-19. He was actually more hyped than those two even at 13.

Babar also showed his ability from his very first game for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 2015, and then he followed it up with a half-century against England in the UAE and an 80 odd against New Zealand in New Zealand in Jan 2016. Arthur was nowhere near the Pakistan team at that point.

Arthur’s presence coincided with Babar’s formative years. It is only natural that his batting improved during those years. While it would be wrong to say that Arthur played no role his development, it is also wrong to say that he owes everything to him.

Arthur actually played key role in his development as he showed a lot of faith in him and he was the one who promoted him as a t20 opener and 3rd in ODIs. He also took criticism from the media when Baber was failing and didn't change his position.

 

[Mamoon]

Arthur actually played key role in his development as he showed a lot of faith in him and he was the one who promoted him as a t20 opener and 3rd in ODIs. He also took criticism from the media when Baber was failing and didn't change his position.

It is a simplistic argument that is not backed by concrete evidence. A quality player doesn’t need many excuses to succeeded or any excuses to fail. The notion that someone like Umar suffered because of batting position is not true. He is a dumb player who would have failed at any position in the long-run.

Secondly, Babar has always been a top 4 player and has never showed the hitting ability to be suitable for a lower-order role. The reason why Umar got demoted from the number 4 (where he started against Sri Lanka in 2009) was because he batted like a slogger.

Someone like Shehzad never got demoted from the opening position and neither did the likes of Jamshed. The lowest that they have ever batted is number 3. There is no evidence that Babar would have batted in the lower-order without Arthur.

He made his debut under Waqar against Zimbabwe in 2015 at the number 4 position and batted ahead of Malik and Sarfraz.

Against England in the next series, he batted in the following positions in the ODIs:

Number 6, opener, opener, number 4.

The reason why he batted at 6 in the first ODI is because Pakistan had to accommodate the departing Younis for a farewell. In the following ODIs, he opened twice and then batted at 4 when he didn’t do well as opener.

In the next series against New Zealand in January 2016, we played two ODIs and he batted at number 4 both times. He scored 62 and 83.

This was the last ODI series before Arthur took over as coach.

In the 7 ODIs that he played before Arthur, he only played down the order once (to accommodate Younis’ farewell), was actually tried as an opener and batted at number 4 otherwise.

Hence, there is zero evidence that Arthur was the one that did him a favor by batting him up the order. He wasn’t the one to come up with the idea of opening with him either, because it was tried by Waqar already and he had had been opening at junior levels throughout his career.

If people want to give excessive credit to Arthur because they have an axe to grind against Waqar and Misbah, so be it. However, the factual evidence does not support their claim.

 

[Relic]

Not surprised to see people giving Arthur excessive credit. It is a Pakistani thing to do. We always give more credit to the mentor than the person himself.

Same reason why Imran Khan seems to own the success of Wasim, Waqar and Inzamam.

Babar would have been better than the other Pakistani batsmen of his era with or without Arthur. He has always been the standout batsman in his team at every level and had un-Pakistani traits from the beginning.

He was being touted as the next big thing for Pakistan by 2008, while the likes of Umar and Shehzad were playing for Pakistan U-19. He was actually more hyped than those two even at 13.

Babar also showed his ability from his very first game for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 2015, and then he followed it up with a half-century against England in the UAE and an 80 odd against New Zealand in New Zealand in Jan 2016. Arthur was nowhere near the Pakistan team at that point.

Arthur’s presence coincided with Babar’s formative years. It is only natural that his batting improved during those years. While it would be wrong to say that Arthur played no role his development, it is also wrong to say that he owes everything to him.

He scored 90* against NZ in NZ when everyone around him were faltering.
He came at 1 down and batted till the end.
Imagine if he had gotten his hundred there and then instead of having to wait 2 more years for it

 

[Saj]

Properly groomed, the right way:

At the NCA from his early teens
Worked with NCA coaches from 13 onwards
Pakistan Under 15s
Pakistan Under 19s
Pakistan A
Foreign tours at a junior level

 

[MenInG]

He is allowed to have a bad day - once in a while!

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[Varun]

I was pleased that Pakistan were 10/2 early which meant that I could tune up the stream and watch Babar bat.

Then he got out just a few minutes in.

 

[Shazzam]

I was pleased that Pakistan were 10/2 early which meant that I could tune up the stream and watch Babar bat.

Then he got out just a few minutes in.

Weird I did the same thing. I stopped watching when I saw both Shaan and Asad batting. These guys are poor batsmen to watch.

 

[Ab Fan]

I really feel that outside Babar, Pakistan currently don't have any test level batsmen,let alone a World class batsmen. Azhar was WC for a year or 1.5 some time back but the current Azhar looks pretty much done.

Shafiq is as mediocre as it gets and he still is while Shan looked good in SA but eventually it's runs which matters and he hasn't had it. I thought Haris is good, surely a 40-45 long term test averaging batsmen but not sure why he is not playing, injured is he?

In bowling, Pakistan has Shaheen who is very good while Yasir is excellent in UAE only but trash outside. Abbas and Hasan Ali started with bang but looks like declining now. So, let's see. Sri Lanka are a better test team on current form I think.

 

[redmaverik84]

Unlike Indian cricketers, Pakistanis don't always come from middle, upper-middle class and some even from very smaller towns. Cricket in India is still a big city thing, in Pakistan it is not always the case. Hence you see lot of immaturity with Pakistani cricketers. Babar Azam is from a cricketing family, what would you expect elsewhere ?

Disagree with you here. Cricket in India was an elitist game till the 70s,80s but not anymore. Ranchi and Rajkot are not as big a city as Lahore is and even those from the city didn't come from a privileged background. Ishant, virat, Umesh, Shami amongst others are from extremely humble backgrounds. But if you see once they are identified, they are educated not just in cricket but also basic etiquettes, most of them can now confidently face press conferences and speak in English. So i guess the difference is the overall education of the individual once they are in the system that matters and not just the cricketing part of it

 

[Hasan123]

I really enjoy watching him bat.

Right now can't say I enjoy watching many Pakistan players.

 

[Captain caveman]

If Babar's career trajectory continues the way it is he will easily surpass all of them except Miandad, and if he really makes the most of his ability then Miandad as well

Maybe, but the 4 i quoted plus younis khan are better technically than babar.

 

[Captain caveman]

Properly groomed, the right way:

At the NCA from his early teens
Worked with NCA coaches from 13 onwards
Pakistan Under 15s
Pakistan Under 19s
Pakistan A
Foreign tours at a junior level

Its much simplier than that, he only plays off drives, perfected one shot and keeps to it. Keeps the ball on the ground, so doesn't throw his wicket away.
And thats it.

 

[ZamanFan]

Whatta talent Babar Azam is,

averages 6 in New Zealand, has a technical problem with seaming ball outside 5th stump, gives catching practice to keeper and slips on most occasions.

To hype this guy in comparison to club level [politically backed] Shan Masood, Imam and Azhar is just plain silly.

 

[Mobashir]

Its much simplier than that, he only plays off drives, perfected one shot and keeps to it. Keeps the ball on the ground, so doesn't throw his wicket away.
And thats it.

You are completely wrong. Babar is very strong on the legside so great bowlers like the aussies don't often bowl on midle and leg to him.
He is also a brilliant player of the short ball, so they didn't even attack him with the short one.

They bowled brilliantly to him, on the vulnerable 4th/5th stump.

 

[Mobashir]

Whatta talent Babar Azam is,

averages 6 in New Zealand, has a technical problem with seaming ball outside 5th stump, gives catching practice to keeper and slips on most occasions.

To hype this guy in comparison to club level [politically backed] Shan Masood, Imam and Azhar is just plain silly.

Are you alright mate?
Average 6 in NZ and 3 In Australia and 2 in England?

 

[Relic]

Whatta talent Babar Azam is,

averages 6 in New Zealand, has a technical problem with seaming ball outside 5th stump, gives catching practice to keeper and slips on most occasions.

To hype this guy in comparison to club level [politically backed] Shan Masood, Imam and Azhar is just plain silly.

He scored a 90 against NZ in NZ in his first series and remained not out despite coming at no.3

The hype is justified

 

[Mobashir]

Youthias need to learn some etiquette how to respond.

At least I don't make things up. Babar Azam averages 47.33 in NZ and your only factual argument was he averages 6 in NZ.

 

[Captain caveman]

You are completely wrong. Babar is very strong on the legside so great bowlers like the aussies don't often bowl on midle and leg to him.
He is also a brilliant player of the short ball, so they didn't even attack him with the short one.

They bowled brilliantly to him, on the vulnerable 4th/5th stump.

I watched plenty of babar's batting to know he is the best off drive player in the world. Its the shot he has perfected. He really doesn't have much more than that. Yes i have seen him play the pull shot a few times, but only to spinners. And in odis he plays the cut shot.
He can play the occasional straight drve or on drive, but he is not that good at those shots. He cant play square drives or any horizontal bat shots. He cant sweepthe spinners.he is weak against any ball on a 5th stump line.
Need i go on?

 

[ZamanFan]

He scored a 90 against NZ in NZ in his first series and remained not out despite coming at no.3

The hype is justified

IF hype is justified how many matches he has finished for Pakistan? I'm talking about his down under average in New Zealand in 2018. He is not great technically, NZ bowlers and pitches badly exposed him.
He has a weak area around fifth stump where he gifts dollies to slips if the bowl is moving a bit.

 

[Captain caveman]

IF hype is justified how many matches he has finished for Pakistan? I'm talking about his down under average in New Zealand in 2018. He is not great technically, NZ bowlers and pitches badly exposed him.
He has a weak area around fifth stump where he gifts dollies to slips if the bowl is moving a bit.

You have learnt something kid.
You are correct with your assessment.

 

[Captain caveman]

I am fine with babar at 5 and shafiq at 6.
But we need to find 4 new competent batsman for positions 1, 2 , 3 and 4!

 

[Mobashir]

I watched plenty of babar's batting to know he is the best off drive player in the world. Its the shot he has perfected. He really doesn't have much more than that. Yes i have seen him play the pull shot a few times, but only to spinners. And in odis he plays the cut shot.
He can play the occasional straight drve or on drive, but he is not that good at those shots. He cant play square drives or any horizontal bat shots. He cant sweepthe spinners.he is weak against any ball on a 5th stump line.
Need i go on?

No you better not go one saying wrong things. Babar's straight drive is near perfect and he plays it on both sides of the wickets.
Babar is very very strong on the leg side, you just need to watch the math if he misses scoring opportunities on the leg side.
In ODI's and T20I's at least he pulls perfectly. In test matches he hasn't been tested enough for the moment to give a verdict but it looks good.
HE doesn't sweep and he has a weakness on off stump, 4th/5th stump. But in this series he has done quite well against his weakness apart in the last innings.

 

[Abdullah719]

I watched plenty of babar's batting to know he is the best off drive player in the world. Its the shot he has perfected. He really doesn't have much more than that. Yes i have seen him play the pull shot a few times, but only to spinners. And in odis he plays the cut shot.
He can play the occasional straight drve or on drive, but he is not that good at those shots. He cant play square drives or any horizontal bat shots. He cant sweepthe spinners.he is weak against any ball on a 5th stump line.
Need i go on?

I assume this is some kind of a sarcastic post.

 

[Captain caveman]

I assume this is some kind of a sarcastic post.

You assume wrong.

 

[Abdullah719]

You assume wrong.

I see. Interesting.

 

[Captain caveman]

Babar has alot of weaknesses in his game which get exposed in tests. Theres a reason he was averaging 35 after 21 tests.
He is the best off drive player in the world, he has a fantastic desire to score centuries and play sensibly, not taking unnecessary risks such as playing the ball in the air. But he is limited technically and his stamina is not great, his sole desire is to get to 100, regardless of the match situation.

 

[Captain caveman]

No you better not go one saying wrong things. Babar's straight drive is near perfect and he plays it on both sides of the wickets.
Babar is very very strong on the leg side, you just need to watch the math if he misses scoring opportunities on the leg side.
In ODI's and T20I's at least he pulls perfectly. In test matches he hasn't been tested enough for the moment to give a verdict but it looks good.
HE doesn't sweep and he has a weakness on off stump, 4th/5th stump. But in this series he has done quite well against his weakness apart in the last innings.

See this is the problem with most posters on here, they are not technical.
Plaease explain this statement you have written -

"Babar's straight drive is near perfect and he plays it on both sides of the wickets. "

How is this even possible?
A straight drive is ,funny enough , hitting the ball staight back the pitch and pass the bowler.
I wont bother replying to the rest of your post.

 

[Abdullah719]

See this is the problem with most posters on here, they are not technical.
Plaease explain this statement you have written -

"Babar's straight drive is near perfect and he plays it on both sides of the wickets. "

How is this even possible?
A straight drive is ,funny enough , hitting the ball staight back the pitch and pass the bowler.
I wont bother replying to the rest of your post.

Means playing it towards mid-on and mid-off, obviously.

 

[Khan12]

Means playing it towards mid-on and mid-off, obviously.

He's an expert leave him before you embarrass yourself he's been watching cricket way before you was born.