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

[Captain caveman]

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

Off drive - drive on the off side
On drive - drive on the on side
Straight drive - drive straight down the pitch and past the bowler and the non -strikers wickets.

 

[Captain caveman]

Babar azam is a poor mans M. Yousuf!

 

[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?

<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/15jsUVW7Qq1i1UW_WalKtwDE6blTLu5cV/preview" width="640" height="480"></iframe>

0:01 = cut, not an ODI
0:15 = on-drive
0:37 = pull, square, not a spinner
0:53 = cut again, in front of square, not an ODI
1:19 = pull again, this time in front of square, not a spinner
2:43 = late cut behind point
2:56 = on-drive again
3:25 = cut again, in front of square... still not an ODI
3:50 = pull again, way in front of square, definitely not a spinner
4:12 = on-drive again

This is all literally from one innings.

Sweeps? Santner + World Cup? Ring a bell?

Need I go on?

 

[Mobashir]

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.

There is pitch on both sides of the wicket. A ball that is bowled by a right armer over the wicket on midle stump can be straight driven back down the ground on both sides of the wicket.

 

[Khan12]

<iframe src="https://streamable.com/s/628m5/nrkcqk" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe>

0:01 = cut, not an ODI
0:15 = on-drive
0:37 = pull, square, not a spinner
0:53 = cut again, in front of square, not an ODI
1:19 = pull again, this time in front of square, not a spinner
2:43 = late cut behind point
2:56 = on-drive again
3:25 = cut again, in front of square... still not an ODI
3:50 = pull again, way in front of square, definitely not a spinner
4:12 = on-drive again

This is all literally from one innings.

Sweeps? Santner + World Cup? Ring a bell?

Need I go on?

That's brutal.

 

[Mobashir]

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

I hesitated a lot before answering him.

You have to be quite special thinking Babar Azam is only good at the off drive.

 

[Khan12]

Babar azam is a poor mans M. Yousuf!

Who shall we replace him with? Fawad alam? Usama baloch......

 

[Gullycricket]

<iframe src="https://streamable.com/s/628m5/nrkcqk" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe>

0:01 = cut, not an ODI
0:15 = on-drive
0:37 = pull, square, not a spinner
0:53 = cut again, in front of square, not an ODI
1:19 = pull again, this time in front of square, not a spinner
2:43 = late cut behind point
2:56 = on-drive again
3:25 = cut again, in front of square... still not an ODI
3:50 = pull again, way in front of square, definitely not a spinner
4:12 = on-drive again

This is all literally from one innings.

Sweeps? Santner + World Cup? Ring a bell?

Need I go on?

Some people need such evidence to understand...Kudos to you Abdullah bhai

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Babar Azam has shown the world his class and pedigree, was mere 3 runs away from a special feat of back to back 100s in Australia. Pakistan batsmen can learn so much from him especially his ability of keeping things simple and above all his hard work and determination 1/2</p>— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/SAfridiOfficial/status/1201114784500011008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Captain caveman]

<iframe src="https://streamable.com/s/628m5/nrkcqk" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe>

0:01 = cut, not an ODI
0:15 = on-drive
0:37 = pull, square, not a spinner
0:53 = cut again, in front of square, not an ODI
1:19 = pull again, this time in front of square, not a spinner
2:43 = late cut behind point
2:56 = on-drive again
3:25 = cut again, in front of square... still not an ODI
3:50 = pull again, way in front of square, definitely not a spinner
4:12 = on-drive again

This is all literally from one innings.

Sweeps? Santner + World Cup? Ring a bell?

Need I go on?

The video is all blurred.
Anyway, can you tell me where was this match and who is bowling at babar, cos i cant see anything.

Just from your description, 4 of the shots are cuts shots. I said he plays cut shots in odis but refrains from playing them in tests. So what pitch is this and whose bowling at him? Is it a 90mph pacer on a fast track or is it a trundler on a flat track?
Same question regarding the 3 pull shots, where and who is bowling?
I said he can play the on drive but not as well as the off drive and same question where and against whom did he play those shots.
And finally if you are going to dig out some footage, apart from it not being blurred, maybe you would like to dig it out from the current series rather than an old series to gauge the true ability of a player, just saying!

 

[Abdullah719]

The video is all blurred.
Anyway, can you tell me where was this match and who is bowling at babar, cos i cant see anything.

Just from your description, 4 of the shots are cuts shots. I said he plays cut shots in odis but refrains from playing them in tests. So what pitch is this and whose bowling at him? Is it a 90mph pacer on a fast track or is it a trundler on a flat track?
Same question regarding the 3 pull shots, where and who is bowling?
I said he can play the on drive but not as well as the off drive and same question where and against whom did he play those shots.
And finally if you are going to dig out some footage, apart from it not being blurred, maybe you would like to dig it out from the current series rather than an old series to gauge the true ability of a player, just saying!

Video is his innings versus South Africa earlier this year.

The bowlers include Rabada, Steyn, Olivier et al., certainly not trundlers

It looks like Streamable is reducing quality... how annoying. I'll add another version.

 

[Captain caveman]

The video is all blurred.
Anyway, can you tell me where was this match and who is bowling at babar, cos i cant see anything.

Just from your description, 4 of the shots are cuts shots. I said he plays cut shots in odis but refrains from playing them in tests. So what pitch is this and whose bowling at him? Is it a 90mph pacer on a fast track or is it a trundler on a flat track?
Same question regarding the 3 pull shots, where and who is bowling?
I said he can play the on drive but not as well as the off drive and same question where and against whom did he play those shots.
And finally if you are going to dig out some footage, apart from it not being blurred, maybe you would like to dig it out from the current series rather than an old series to gauge the true ability of a player, just saying!

Oh from the graphic, you pullout the SA match and a back from injury, past his best steyn, very convincing argument, why does babar not try that against starc?

 

[Abdullah719]

Oh from the graphic, you pullout the SA match and a back from injury, past his best steyn, very convincing argument, why does babar not try that against starc?

Don't change the goalposts... you said he doesn't play pull shots in Test cricket and has no shots besides the cover drive. I just posted a video of ONE INNINGS where he played a number of cuts, pulls and on-drives as well.

 

[Captain caveman]

Video is his innings versus South Africa earlier this year, and it's not blurred at all

The bowlers include Rabada, Steyn, Olivier et al., certainly not trundlers

Anyone else have problems viewing this video? Streamable videos normally work fine for most people, though it is blocked in India

Its blurred on my phone.
Steyn back from injury and past his best.
Olivier, the definition of a trundler, just because he bouncedbthe pak team out, does not mean his a trundler.
Rabada is the only decent bowler.
What pitch was this on again, i forgot, a pancake.
I am on about playing against top bowlers at their peak on good tracks.
How many pull shots and hook shots did babar play in this current test or at the gabba?

 

[Abdullah719]

Its blurred on my phone.
Steyn back from injury and past his best.
Olivier, the definition of a trundler, just because he bouncedbthe pak team out, does not mean his a trundler.
Rabada is the only decent bowler.
What pitch was this on again, i forgot, a pancake.
I am on about playing against top bowlers at their peak on good tracks.
How many pull shots and hook shots did babar play in this current test or at the gabba?

You are only digging yourself deeper into a hole.

The team scores in this match were 181, 190, 223 and 151/4. Not 500. Not a pancake.

How many times did the Aussies attack him with short-bowling for him to play pulls and hooks? And you said he only plays pulls against spinners. I don't think Rabada, Steyn and Olivier are spinners.

 

[Captain caveman]

Don't change the goalposts... you said he doesn't play pull shots in Test cricket and has no shots besides the cover drive. I just posted a video of ONE INNINGS where he played a number of cuts, pulls and on-drives as well.

You said it ONE INNINGS on a flat pitch against a bowler about to retire and a trundler. Next you be pulling out a video of babar playing all the shots against the zimbabwe team lol!
Have some standards.
Show me babar playing all these shots against starc,hazlewood and cummins in australia.
Or against boult, ferguson and southee in NZ.
etc.

 

[Captain caveman]

You are only digging yourself deeper into a hole.

The team scores in this match were 181, 190, 223 and 151/4. Not 500. Not a pancake.

How many times did the Aussies attack him with short-bowling for him to play pulls and hooks? And you said he only plays pulls against spinners. I don't think Rabada, Steyn and Olivier are spinners.

Just one match, any other matches against top teams, who are not playing a retiring bowler and a trundler?

 

[Relic]

Just one match, any other matches against top teams, who are not playing a retiring bowler and a trundler?

Who's the trundler?

 

[Abdullah719]

You said it ONE INNINGS on a flat pitch against a bowler about to retire and a trundler. Next you be pulling out a video of babar playing all the shots against the zimbabwe team lol!
Have some standards.
Show me babar playing all these shots against starc,hazlewood and cummins in australia.
Or against boult, ferguson and southee in NZ.
etc.

Rabada was the #1 ranked Test bowler during this match

Do go on.

And here's the video.

<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/15jsUVW7Qq1i1UW_WalKtwDE6blTLu5cV/preview" width="640" height="480"></iframe>

 

[Abdullah719]

Just one match, any other matches against top teams, who are not playing a retiring bowler and a trundler?

I don't have further time to waste, my work here is done. Adios

 

[Captain caveman]

You are only digging yourself deeper into a hole.

The team scores in this match were 181, 190, 223 and 151/4. Not 500. Not a pancake.

How many times did the Aussies attack him with short-bowling for him to play pulls and hooks? And you said he only plays pulls against spinners. I don't think Rabada, Steyn and Olivier are spinners.

I watched this game and the pitch was a pancake , it offered some bounce and the trundler olivier virtually bowled out the whole pak team, with some gentle bouncers lol!

 

[Relic]

I watched this game and the pitch was a pancake , it offered some bounce and the trundler olivier virtually bowled out the whole pak team, with some gentle bouncers lol!

Olivier was a trundler? )
Do you even know what a trundler is???

The guy was bowling 145+kmph )

 

[Captain caveman]

I don't have further time to waste, my work here is done. Adios

Babar is a limited batsman against top quality bowlers on good pitches, pulling one video on a pancake with a retiring bowler and a trundler l, does not alter that fact.
How many cut shotsbdid babar play in this test?
How many pull shots did he play in this test?
SL beat the same team in the same grounds you are showing in your video. They must all be as good as babar as well lol!

 

[Captain caveman]

Olivier was a trundler? )
Do you even know what a trundler is???

The guy was bowling 145+kmph )

No he wasnt!

 

[Relic]

No he wasnt!

He was

Fine. You tell me how fast he was bowling

 

[Abdullah719]

He was

Fine. You tell me how fast he was bowling

 

[Captain caveman]

He was

Fine. You tell me how fast he was bowling

He was bowling mostly bouncers which the pak players couldnt handle. Before this series he had hardly taken any wickets and hardly taken any since.
He is tall, thats why they couldnt handle his bouncers. He was bowling in the mid 130s range i.e. a trundler.

 

[Relic]

Thanks

[MENTION=149691]Captain caveman[/MENTION]
This isn't "mid 130s". The guy's average is 140+
So he ISN'T a trundler

 

[Humza_Razzaque]

God thats brutal

 

[Captain caveman]

Thats only because he was bowling bouncers, his normal delivery was in the mid 130 kph.
You need to interpret these graphics properly!

 

[pillionrider]

Just from your description, 4 of the shots are cuts shots. I said he plays cut shots in odis but refrains from playing them in tests.

Not sure what you're on about. The thing that stood out for me in the 1st Test vs Australia were the cut shots he played.

 

[Relic]

Thats only because he was bowling bouncers, hisbnormal delivery was in th mid 130 kph.
You need to interpret these graphics properly!

Mr. Caveman, When you bowl bouncers the speed is usually lower than the speed of your normal deliveries so you've got it the other way around.
I thought this was supposed to be common cricketing knowledge

 

[Captain caveman]

Not sure what you're on about. The thing that stood out for me in the 1st Test vs Australia were the cut shots he played.

When he got out virtually first ball trying to cut the ball, stood out for me as well lol!

 

[Captain caveman]

Mr. Caveman, When you bowl bouncers the speed is usually lower than the speed of your normal deliveries so you've got it the other way around.
I thought this was supposed to be common cricketing knowledge

Speed is measured from the release of the ball from the hand, and to bowl a bouncer you have to exert greater effort, thats why its sometimes called an effort ball, hope that clearsbup your confusion!

 

[Relic]

Speed is measured from the release of the ball from the hand, and to bowl a bouncer you have to exert greater effort, thats why its sometimes called an effort ball, hope that clearsbup your confusion!

Obviously it requires more force but that doesn't mean the speed is higher. The speed is usually lower.

[MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION]
Please help Mr. Caveman out will you

 

[Captain caveman]

So many babar fans lol!
The man got out for virtually nothing in 2 out of 4 innings!
Now give it a rest and watch pakistan lose 2 out of 2 tests by an innings and plenty and keep dreaming about how good babar azam is. Lol!

 

[pillionrider]

When he got out virtually first ball trying to cut the ball, stood out for me as well lol!

2nd innings? Didn't catch it.

Doesn't matter if he got out (if indeed) to the cut shot. He plays it well. Very well.

 

[Captain caveman]

I dont usually do this, but any indian fans agree with what i am saying, dont want to hear from indian babar azam fans, thanks!

 

[Abdullah719]

So many babar fans lol!
The man got out for virtually nothing in 2 out of 4 innings!
Now give it a rest and watch pakistan lose 2 out of 2 tests by an innings and plenty and keep dreaming about how good babar azam is. Lol!

One deflection after another...

Captain, can we know a little bit about your background please? It's interesting that you appear to be a Pakistan fan but your profile's time zone is set to Indian time.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

There bound to be haters. Happened to everyone

In Sha Allah our Babar will keep shutting mouths for years to come

 

[Relic]

One deflection after another...

Captain, can we know a little bit about your background please? It's interesting that you appear to be a Pakistan fan but your profile's time zone is set to Indian time.

 

[sharmaji]

Babar is a top class batsman. PCB should do what it did with Babar with other batsmen, find young talented players, train them in SENA countries and hone their skills before launching them in international cricket.

 

[Captain caveman]

One deflection after another...

Captain, can we know a little bit about your background please? It's interesting that you appear to be a Pakistan fan but your profile's time zone is set to Indian time.

Thats wasn't set by me, if you can change it to uk time thanks!
You should open your own p.i. agency.
I am the biggest pakistan cricket fan there is, been watching them since 1982, at edgbaston was the first test i went to, saw imran khan, javed miandad, abdul qadir, zaheer abbas, mohsin khan, mudassar nazar etc .
Read my post history and you would be in no doubt.
I rate babar, but i am honest and he is limited, but you guys can go nuts about him if you want.
When babar can score 260 at headingley like miandad or 200 and 170 at lords iirc like yousuf and younis or a double century to tie an away england series like younis etc , then come back to me.

 

[pillionrider]

Captain, can we know a little bit about your background please? It's interesting that you appear to be a Pakistan fan but your profile's time zone is set to Indian time.

I know the button you pushed in the voting booth, Captain

 

[Abdullah719]

Thats wasn't set by me, if you can change it to uk time thanks!
You should open your own p.i. agency.
I am the biggest pakistan cricket fan there is, been watching them since 1982, at edgbaston was the first test i went to, saw imran khan, javed miandad, abdul qadir, zaheer abbas, mohsin khan, mudassar nazar etc .
Read my post history and you would be in no doubt.
I rate babar, but i am honest and he is limited, but you guys can go nuts about him if you want.
When babar can score 260 at headingley like miandad or 200 and 170 at lords iirc like yousuf and younis or a double century to tie an away england series like younis etc , then come back to me.

Sure, I believe you, was just a query.

Anyway, on the Babar topic, your arguments are all over the place. From 'he only plays cover drives' to 'when did he hit shots against good bowlers' to 'why didn't he hit specific shots against Australia' to 'only 2 good innings out of 4'... not to mention Olivier being a trundler. And now the latest, when will he score 260 etc. Capt, he's 25. Let's get back to this in a few years time, I hope you hang around till then!

 

[Captain caveman]

Sure, I believe you, was just a query.

Anyway, on the Babar topic, your arguments are all over the place. From 'he only plays cover drives' to 'when did he hit shots against good bowlers' to 'why didn't he hit specific shots against Australia' to 'only 2 good innings out of 4'... not to mention Olivier being a trundler. And now the latest, when will he score 260 etc. Capt, he's 25. Let's get back to this in a few years time, I hope you hang around till then!

My arguments are not all over the place, i may not have expressed myself clearly so here goes.
Any batsman can play all the technical shots against low calibre bowlers and/ or on flat pitches. But at the highest level you have to be able to play these shots against the best bowlers in the world and on the toughest pitches, only then can you be called a top batsman who has all the shots. Babars main shot is the off drive and he can play it against anyone, anywhere, thats why i said he has perfected this shot and is the best in the world at it. I said he can play the straight drive and the on drive but no where as proficiently as the off drive. He pulls mostly spinners or poor deliveries from pacers.
He doesnt square drive or play horizontal shots. He doesnt hook bouncers or sweep spinners. He has no power game, he relies on timing only. He has no stamina, so he wont score double centuries or even big daddy centuries which were required in these last two tests. Etc.
To be the best you have to show up against the best, at their. den and show your skills, babar has got out 2 out of 4 times for virtually nothing., he also has a century and 97, but got out when he needed to go on. He is also quite selfish and does not protect the tail by farming the strike, he is only interested in scoring his own personal milestone of a century and not about the team or match situation.
Thats my take on babar azam, you can disagree if you like, but you would be wrong to do so.

 

[Khan12]

My arguments are not all over the place, i may not have expressed myself clearly so here goes.
Any batsman can play all the technical shots against low calibre bowlers and/ or on flat pitches. But at the highest level you have to be able to play these shots against the best bowlers in the world and on the toughest pitches, only then can you be called a top batsman who has all the shots. Babars main shot is the off drive and he can play it against anyone, anywhere, thats why i said he has perfected this shot and is the best in the world at it. I said he can play the straight drive and the on drive but no where as proficiently as the off drive. He pulls mostly spinners or poor deliveries from pacers.
He doesnt square drive or play horizontal shots. He doesnt hook bouncers or sweep spinners. He has no power game, he relies on timing only. He has no stamina, so he wont score double centuries or even big daddy centuries which were required in these last two tests. Etc.
To be the best you have to show up against the best, at their. den and show your skills, babar has got out 2 out of 4 times for virtually nothing., he also has a century and 97, but got out when he needed to go on. He is also quite selfish and does not protect the tail by farming the strike, he is only interested in scoring his own personal milestone of a century and not about the team or match situation.
Thats my take on babar azam, you can disagree if you like, but you would be wrong to do so.

RIP your PP Career May 2019- 1st December 2019. Due to career ending brutal spell by [MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION].

 

[Captain caveman]

RIP your PP Career May 2019- 1st December 2019. Due to career ending brutal spell by [MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION].

Babar fans wont believe me because like all us pak fans we are desperate for a batting saviour, but babar is not that guy, in time you guys will see.

 

[Khan12]

Babar fans wont believe me because like all us pak fans we are desperate for a batting saviour, but babar is not that guy, in time you guys will see.

Instead of saying this and that why don't you provide us with names other then bashing him. Give us name or no point debating.

 

[Extra_Cover]

A certain captain from a cave has taken quite an online thrashing in this thread. Its particularly impressive that after taking a full blooded uppercut he comes back for more.

At this point he technical analysis of Babar's weakness has simply turned into hatred and he is defending in hatred to prove that he is right when the evidences clearly say he is not.

 

[Realromeo]

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

Notice how of most of the cricketers from "humble" backgrounds are bowlers and not batters. Virat Kohli's father was a lawyer. Cricket is still an Elitist sport in india my friend, extra coaching, extra payment and you get far ahead compared to the guy who just pays minimum coaching fees. Also Indian kids for the most part attend private schools which are far ahead than pathetic government schools.

 

[Realromeo]

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

What kind of reply is this ? You expect me to give some sort of reply to this ? Try to make more sense.

 

[jagatk]

Notice how of most of the cricketers from "humble" backgrounds are bowlers and not batters. Virat Kohli's father was a lawyer. Cricket is still an Elitist sport in india my friend, extra coaching, extra payment and you get far ahead compared to the guy who just pays minimum coaching fees. Also Indian kids for the most part attend private schools which are far ahead than pathetic government schools.

So middle class is now considered elite these days?

 

[ask_analyse_act]

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!

completely agree with that.. Mickey was doing the same with faheem and shadab fast tracking them to tests and responded with good performances.... Faheem and Shinwari should have been in the WC squad instead of Wahab and Hasnain who never got a game to play...

 

[Captain caveman]

A certain captain from a cave has taken quite an online thrashing in this thread. Its particularly impressive that after taking a full blooded uppercut he comes back for more.

At this point he technical analysis of Babar's weakness has simply turned into hatred and he is defending in hatred to prove that he is right when the evidences clearly say he is not.

What thrashing?
What hatred?
I came back with valid points.
I have no hatred for babar and wish him and every pakistani cricketer success.
But babar is a limited batsman who predominantly plays only one shot, the off drive!
You babar fans can behave like sachin fans and attack anyone who speaks against your idol, but the fact remains babar is predominantly a one shot pony!

 

[Shazzam]

Babar azam is a poor mans M. Yousuf!

Your hate for Babar makes no sense. Are you a Indian?

 

[Khan12]

What thrashing?
What hatred?
I came back with valid points.
I have no hatred for babar and wish him and every pakistani cricketer success.
But babar is a limited batsman who predominantly plays only one shot, the off drive!
You babar fans can behave like sachin fans and attack anyone who speaks against your idol, but the fact remains babar is predominantly a one shot pony!

Still waiting for your reply regarding who should replace him.

 

[Captain caveman]

Your hate for Babar makes no sense. Are you a Indian?

I dont hate babar, i like him very much as a player and wish him success, but i am not going to lie about his limitations and selfishness.
I used to say the same things about M. Amir and the pak fans used to attack me the same way, now most agree with me.

What you need to understand is that
I have watched, at their peak imran khan, javed miandad, inzamam ul haq, M. Yousuf and Younis khan. All of whom are superior batsman to babar.
Babar reminds me alot of M. Yousuf, in the elegance of both players shots and both being selfish and only playing for milestones, but yousuf was a far superior batsman.
No hate, just honesty!

 

[Captain caveman]

Still waiting for your reply regarding who should replace him.

No one his our best bat, but that does not mean he is above criticism.

 

[Captain caveman]

I dont hate babar, i like him very much as a player and wish him success, but i am not going to lie about his limitations and selfishness.
I used to say the same things about M. Amir and the pak fans used to attack me the same way, now most agree with me.

What you need to understand is that
I have watched, at their peak imran khan, javed miandad, inzamam ul haq, M. Yousuf and Younis khan. All of whom are superior batsman to babar.
Babar reminds me alot of M. Yousuf, in the elegance of both players shots and both being selfish and only playing for milestones, but yousuf was a far superior batsman.
No hate, just honesty!

I missed out saeed anwar as well, far superior batsman than babar

 

[Nfc120]

I have rarely seen someone be proven so utterly wrong on a forum. A certain Kaptaan is flaunting his fob credentials like no other

 

[Shazzam]

I dont hate babar, i like him very much as a player and wish him success, but i am not going to lie about his limitations and selfishness.
I used to say the same things about M. Amir and the pak fans used to attack me the same way, now most agree with me.

What you need to understand is that
I have watched, at their peak imran khan, javed miandad, inzamam ul haq, M. Yousuf and Younis khan. All of whom are superior batsman to babar.
Babar reminds me alot of M. Yousuf, in the elegance of both players shots and both being selfish and only playing for milestones, but yousuf was a far superior batsman.
No hate, just honesty!

He is still improving series by series. The guy is the most compact batsmen we have. After a long time we got a batsmen the world is talking about. How can you say things just to be outside of crowd of his supporters. For one stop comparing him to the past batsmen. Wait for him to get couple of more years of batting. Secondly if you know someone better than say so. You saying he is limited or not limited won’t do anything cause its not like we got a team of Sachin’s. Any realistic Babar fan knows that Babar still has a long way to go. So what your saying is nothing new.

 

[Abdullah719]

My arguments are not all over the place, i may not have expressed myself clearly so here goes.
Any batsman can play all the technical shots against low calibre bowlers and/ or on flat pitches. But at the highest level you have to be able to play these shots against the best bowlers in the world and on the toughest pitches, only then can you be called a top batsman who has all the shots. Babars main shot is the off drive and he can play it against anyone, anywhere, thats why i said he has perfected this shot and is the best in the world at it. I said he can play the straight drive and the on drive but no where as proficiently as the off drive. He pulls mostly spinners or poor deliveries from pacers.
He doesnt square drive or play horizontal shots. He doesnt hook bouncers or sweep spinners. He has no power game, he relies on timing only. He has no stamina, so he wont score double centuries or even big daddy centuries which were required in these last two tests. Etc.
To be the best you have to show up against the best, at their. den and show your skills, babar has got out 2 out of 4 times for virtually nothing., he also has a century and 97, but got out when he needed to go on. He is also quite selfish and does not protect the tail by farming the strike, he is only interested in scoring his own personal milestone of a century and not about the team or match situation.
Thats my take on babar azam, you can disagree if you like, but you would be wrong to do so.

Rabada is not a low calibre bowler. Neither is Steyn, though he may have been past his best. Olivier is a one-trick pony but still had a lot of pace and was bowling bouncers, which Babar handled just fine. Gasp, yes, he played pull-shots too.

Babar's innings of 71 was the highest score in the match and the highest team total was 223. These are not typical scores on a pancake flat pitch.

How do you determine whether he has perfected other shots besides the off-drive

Blatant lie to say he doesn't play horizontal bat shots, for anyone blessed with the gift of eyesight. Evidence is the video above. I can get more evidence if you want it.

You say 'he relies on timing' as though it's a negative thing. Why are we discussing power game in the context of Test cricket?

"2 out of 4 times for virtually nothing" You do realise that's how batting works. Batsmen fail more often than they succeed. That's the nature of cricket. If you make big scores in half of your innings in a series, you've done a good job. The only thing is that the scores should be bigger.

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

See, there's a difference between just making up stuff on the spot and actual proper critiquing. Babar has plenty in his game that he needs to work on, there's always room for improvement. He has gotten out in the 90s five times over the last 14 months, he needs to figure that out. He has to improve his concentration levels, in order to be able to play those long innings like the best batsmen in the world do. Amongst other things.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mark Nicholas during Babar Azam's innings "This is batting of the highest quality, it could be Kohli or it could be de Villiers, such is the command" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvPAK</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1077901212983480320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Babar has almost nothing to prove in terms of strokeplay. Unless we're talking about scoops, switch hits and unorthodox T20 style shots.

 

[Captain caveman]

I have rarely seen someone be proven so utterly wrong on a forum. A certain Kaptaan is flaunting his fob credentials like no other

What have i been proven wrong that babar is a limited technical batsman who flourishes on dead pitches of the uae and is motivated by self milestones. The apparent no. 1 t20 batsman getting exposed, our best batsman getting outscored by yasir shah, our best batsman scoring vitually nothing in two out of 4 innings?
If shafiq scores a century in this second innings, will you guys who say shafiq should be kicked out of the team also demand babar be kicked out, because both would have scored 1 century and 1 half century and two fails?
And if yasir scores the runs in this innings to become the top pakistani scoring batsman in the series, will you guys still go on about babar without any shame?
Lets see what happens!

 

[MenInG]

Inzi's praise for Babar today:


"Babar Azam is one Pakistan player after a long time that one enjoys watching play"

 

[Varun]

Your hate for Babar makes no sense. Are you a Indian?

Why do you think Indians "hate" Babar Azam?

 

[Captain caveman]

Rabada is not a low calibre bowler. Neither is Steyn, though he may have been past his best. Olivier is a one-trick pony but still had a lot of pace and was bowling bouncers, which Babar handled just fine. Gasp, yes, he played pull-shots too.

Babar's innings of 71 was the highest score in the match and the highest team total was 223. These are not typical scores on a pancake flat pitch.

How do you determine whether he has perfected other shots besides the off-drive

Blatant lie to say he doesn't play horizontal bat shots, for anyone blessed with the gift of eyesight. Evidence is the video above. I can get more evidence if you want it.

You say 'he relies on timing' as though it's a negative thing. Why are we discussing power game in the context of Test cricket?

"2 out of 4 times for virtually nothing" You do realise that's how batting works. Batsmen fail more often than they succeed. That's the nature of cricket. If you make big scores in half of your innings in a series, you've done a good job. The only thing is that the scores should be bigger.

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

See, there's a difference between just making up stuff on the spot and actual proper critiquing. Babar has plenty in his game that he needs to work on, there's always room for improvement. He has gotten out in the 90s five times over the last 14 months, he needs to figure that out. He has to improve his concentration levels, in order to be able to play those long innings like the best batsmen in the world do. Amongst other things.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mark Nicholas during Babar Azam's innings "This is batting of the highest quality, it could be Kohli or it could be de Villiers, such is the command" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvPAK</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1077901212983480320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Babar has almost nothing to prove in terms of strokeplay. Unless we're talking about scoops, switch hits and unorthodox T20 style shots.

Steyn was on his last legs and was coming back from a long injury. Olivier was mediocre, just look at how few wickets he had befor the pak series, he was only added to the SA team to bowl bouncers.

You believe babar has all the shots in the book?
He is a perfect off drive specialist who hadly plays any other attacking shots, the odd pull shots to a long hop or of a spinner does not mean he is proficient at that shot. Shaan played beautifully in that series, pulling and hooking all those bowlers you mentioned. Shaan has also lasted 50 odd deliveries in this innings compared to a handful of deliveries that babar lasted, lets all call shaan a great batsman as well lol!

 

[Shazzam]

Why do you think Indians "hate" Babar Azam?

Cause the constant Virat Kohli comparison.

 

[Captain caveman]

Inzi's praise for Babar today:


"Babar Azam is one Pakistan player after a long time that one enjoys watching play"

True!
Babar is a good player but not a great player, he has many technical faults.
He has done little in this series to warrant such high praise that his fans are giving him, nor has any of the Pakistani batsman.
Its a shame to see what our team has become and pak fans are praising babar and not seeing the bigger picture!
Reminds me of the indian fans of the 90s and their hero worship of sachin, who too had technical faults, struggle against swing.
Anyway, i have to spend some time with the family, we are going out, dont want anyone to think i am running away from this battle, so keep posting your posts and i will respond to them all before the start of play in the test.

 

[pillionrider]

He is a perfect off drive specialist who hadly plays any other attacking shots, the odd pull shots to a long hop or of a spinner does not mean he is proficient at that shot.

Give it a rest man. You've been embarrassed more than a weekend deserves.

If you don't like Babar, that's fine. After all, he's not some God

But for all your snotty claims of talking technique, really beginning to wonder if you know the difference between an off-drive and a cover-drive.

 

[pillionrider]

Anyway, i have to spend some time with the family, we are going out, dont want anyone to think i am running away from this battle...

More like

I need to catch up on my daily dose of Arnab and Republic World

 

[Captain caveman]

Give it a rest man. You've been embarrassed more than a weekend deserves.

If you don't like Babar, that's fine. After all, he's not some God

But for all your snotty claims of talking technique, really beginning to wonder if you know the difference between an off-drive and a cover-drive.

Ah you have just exposed yourself and your lack of knowledge because a cover drive is a off drive! A drive to the off side.

 

[Captain caveman]

Give it a rest man. You've been embarrassed more than a weekend deserves.

If you don't like Babar, that's fine. After all, he's not some God

But for all your snotty claims of talking technique, really beginning to wonder if you know the difference between an off-drive and a cover-drive.

I like babar but i am not going to over rate someone, especially someone who plays for themselves and not the team.

 

[Smudger]

I like babar but i am not going to over rate someone, especially someone who plays for themselves and not the team.

How sad. Babar must be crying that captain caveman does'nt rate him. I am suprised that people are feeding this obvious troll. I am pretty sure that he is sitting in India and not in England

 

[Titan24]

Contrary to popular belief, such players arent produced, they just happen and ideally identified earlier to nurture them as was the case with Babar.

Yes a good system or structure can definitely minimize the chance of loosing out on such players by identifying them young and having a proper career path in place.

 

[Extra_Cover]

What thrashing?
What hatred?
I came back with valid points.
I have no hatred for babar and wish him and every pakistani cricketer success.
But babar is a limited batsman who predominantly plays only one shot, the off drive!
You babar fans can behave like sachin fans and attack anyone who speaks against your idol, but the fact remains babar is predominantly a one shot pony!

I'm responding to you under the presumption that you watch a lot of cricket and understand cricket. For all your rant throughout the thread I agree the cover area is Babar's strongest area. Please note when I say its his strongest area in my opinion he is the best player of cover/offdrive at this moment in world cricket.

Now, lets come to the area where I disagree with you. You say that if you take out this cover drive of Babar he will be nothing other than average, here you are completely wrong and have been proven above quite comprehensively by [MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION]. Below are the shots where Babar has complete control of and are his strong areas, not the strongest in the world in these shots but good enough to work it against the best bowlers in the business.

- Short arm jab / flick of hips: If you have seen Babar play this shot then you would immediately know that he is world class. I have not seen many players play this shot with this much control and timing. In fact he played the flick of hip in the first innings here too and multiple times in the world cup.
- Slog sweep / backfoot pull off spinner through midwicket: This is his six hitting shot and he nails them! One of the reason he is so successful in T20 is this shot. Check out his outings in Natwest T20 this summer to know how well he plays this shot.
- Flick through midwicket / Short pull through midwicket: Check SAF series / world cup / Natwest T20 and you will know he has complete control on this shot.
- Back foot play behind point off fast bowlers: Can be seen from videos posted above.

Regardless of everything mentioned above Babar's biggest asset is his ability to find gaps and keep the runs ticking over. He is natural at getting singles / doubles with relative ease. In my opinion Babar is the best Pakistani batsman and IF he continues like this for couple more years then he will be best in the world by a margin but that is a big IF.

Since you are so hellbent on proving Babar is just one trick pony are you also similarly critical of these other players:
- Smith: Back foot play through off side and walking across and working through leg side.
- Root: Cut shot / slog sweep
- Kohli: Square drive / flick of pads
- Rohit: Straight drives / Pull or hooks
- Williamson: Back foot through off side and cover drive

Every player has their strong points. They are great because they exploit them well and when its not in their strongest zone they are still good enough to work them away. This applies to every player regardless of batsman or bowler.

 

[Hyperion66]

I like babar but i am not going to over rate someone, especially someone who plays for themselves and not the team.

I just read the thread and partially agree with you caveman ji. He played well this series but both of his innings came when match was already gone and pressure was off. He couldn't score in first innings of the first test which would have truly mattered and set the tone and Pak could have still be in the game. His ton in the second was good but nothing to drool over as even the most hardcore Pak fan will admit that it didn't really impacted the match in any way. Again in the second game Pak was out of the race by the time Aus declared, they had become loose and the intensity was missing for a couple of session, which was pretty unusual for an Australian attack who are relentless in general, Babar and Yasir made the best of it, full credit to them but just when it felt like may be just may be Pak could actually made Aus bat again Babar again gone for a nothing score. Now I know one man can't win you games and no batter can score big everytime hell most Kohli's ton in Sena came in a losing cause, but he made sure that we are in the game when he was at the crease, such game awareness and pressure handling is not present in Babar's game. Not taking any credit away, he really did well for a Pak bat in Aus, just that his scores would matter a bit more if they kept Pak in the game. But then again me as an Indian fan perhaps setting our standards for Babar which is probably not fair. He is great to watch when on song.

I do not agree with you him being a one shot wonder, he has a well rounded game and all the shots in the book, aesthetically quite pleasing too.

 

[Captain caveman]

I just read the thread and partially agree with you caveman ji. He played well this series but both of his innings came when match was already gone and pressure was off. He couldn't score in first innings of the first test which would have truly mattered and set the tone and Pak could have still be in the game. His ton in the second was good but nothing to drool over as even the most hardcore Pak fan will admit that it didn't really impacted the match in any way. Again in the second game Pak was out of the race by the time Aus declared, they had become loose and the intensity was missing for a couple of session, which was pretty unusual for an Australian attack who are relentless in general, Babar and Yasir made the best of it, full credit to them but just when it felt like may be just may be Pak could actually made Aus bat again Babar again gone for a nothing score. Now I know one man can't win you games and no batter can score big everytime hell most Kohli's ton in Sena came in a losing cause, but he made sure that we are in the game when he was at the crease, such game awareness and pressure handling is not present in Babar's game. Not taking any credit away, he really did well for a Pak bat in Aus, just that his scores would matter a bit more if they kept Pak in the game. But then again me as an Indian fan perhaps setting our standards for Babar which is probably not fair. He is great to watch when on song.

I do not agree with you him being a one shot wonder, he has a well rounded game and all the shots in the book, aesthetically quite pleasing too.

Thank you for your honest and unbiased opinion.
I agree with what you say and would ask the babar fans to read this post carefully and not just dismiss it because it was written by an indian fan.
I admire babar azam but i think theres too much hype around him. I think his best format is odis where he uses more types of shots. I believe he is one of the best odi players in the world.
He is an ok t20 player, but does not have a power game.
In tests he is improving but he limits his shot selection to mostly off drives and his sole aim is score his milestone of a century, once thats done, so is babar. He reminds me alot of M. Yousuf, but at this moment i would say yousuf was a better player. Aspects of his game also remind me of king kohli, especially in odis, but kohli has achieved much more and has a much more rounded game and is a superior player with a superior competitive edge. But babar fans will say that i wouod say that because any pak fan who tries to give an honest assesment of babar which is not full of praise, is called an indian fan lol!
Thank you brother for your post!

 

[kingusama92]

Geez, you've taken him apart post by post.

 

[Captain caveman]

I'm responding to you under the presumption that you watch a lot of cricket and understand cricket. For all your rant throughout the thread I agree the cover area is Babar's strongest area. Please note when I say its his strongest area in my opinion he is the best player of cover/offdrive at this moment in world cricket.

Now, lets come to the area where I disagree with you. You say that if you take out this cover drive of Babar he will be nothing other than average, here you are completely wrong and have been proven above quite comprehensively by [MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION]. Below are the shots where Babar has complete control of and are his strong areas, not the strongest in the world in these shots but good enough to work it against the best bowlers in the business.

- Short arm jab / flick of hips: If you have seen Babar play this shot then you would immediately know that he is world class. I have not seen many players play this shot with this much control and timing. In fact he played the flick of hip in the first innings here too and multiple times in the world cup.
- Slog sweep / backfoot pull off spinner through midwicket: This is his six hitting shot and he nails them! One of the reason he is so successful in T20 is this shot. Check out his outings in Natwest T20 this summer to know how well he plays this shot.
- Flick through midwicket / Short pull through midwicket: Check SAF series / world cup / Natwest T20 and you will know he has complete control on this shot.
- Back foot play behind point off fast bowlers: Can be seen from videos posted above.

Regardless of everything mentioned above Babar's biggest asset is his ability to find gaps and keep the runs ticking over. He is natural at getting singles / doubles with relative ease. In my opinion Babar is the best Pakistani batsman and IF he continues like this for couple more years then he will be best in the world by a margin but that is a big IF.

Since you are so hellbent on proving Babar is just one trick pony are you also similarly critical of these other players:
- Smith: Back foot play through off side and walking across and working through leg side.
- Root: Cut shot / slog sweep
- Kohli: Square drive / flick of pads
- Rohit: Straight drives / Pull or hooks
- Williamson: Back foot through off side and cover drive

Every player has their strong points. They are great because they exploit them well and when its not in their strongest zone they are still good enough to work them away. This applies to every player regardless of batsman or bowler.

Good post.
Babar plays more different types of shots in odis then in tests.
The flick of his hips which he played in the first innings, even mickey arthur said on straight drive, when babar plays that shot i know he is in form i.e. he does play that shot but not that often, only when he is in form.
The back foot pull shot against the spinners, i have already credited him for and Abdullah bhai has shown that he plays it occassionally against a poor long hop delivery by pacers as well, but not against a good short ball from a pacer which requires more skill and timing.
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