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[VIDEOS] Babar Azam - the T20 batter

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Saj

PakPassion Administrator
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I'm not convinced.

His strike rate is a concern and his array of shots seems limited.

Yes he plays some wonderful shots, but it seems like just when he needs to kick on he plays a loose shot.

Strike rate of 116.66 at the current PSL which really is not good enough.
 
The signs are there looking at the way he bats in ODIs. He isn't up to optimum pace for that format in this day and age either, but it's not like Pakistan are blessed with riches in the batting department to do away with him.
 
He shouldn't open, he isn't explosive enough.

But he's good to play at #3 in T20I's.
 
Saj said:
I'm not convinced.

His strike rate is a concern and his array of shots seems limited.

Yes he plays some wonderful shots, but it seems like just when he needs to kick on he plays a loose shot.

Strike rate of 116.66 at the current PSL which really is not good enough.
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He hurt his team when he come as an opener and play in PP.
 
Give him more time. The potential is there. He just scored 47 off 30 on a difficult pitch a couple of matches ago.

I think he needs to put on more muscles though. His power game will improve.
 
problem is that his partners have been lethargic between the wickets. gayle and 40 yr old sanga dont really run aggressive with him. everytime he hits a boundary, he looks for rotation of strike next ball. exactly what you need as an opener. he will only get better with time also. one critique would be that he needs some more inventive shots once hes set.
 
He has time to develop.

Did you watch Kohli in 2008 and 2009? He was playing alongside Misbah in RCB. Wasn't convincing enough as an loi bat.

But yes, the question is can Babar develop dramatically? Currently, he's on course to becoming a Kane Williamson.

He has to develop some gears to go pursue the Kohli route.
 
He will be a good option to open for Pakistan with an explosive hitter at the other end.
 
No matter how immense his talent and ability is, Babar Azam's stats really dont tell the story of his not so impactous stay at the crease. Yes he is brilliant at piling up the runs however those runs must come at the right time in an innings where Pakistan or whatever team he represents can take the game by the scruff of the neck. Often gets so bogged down when he really should be excelling as a runs getter for his team.
 
Guys, chill out - We are not talking about Babar Azam trying to get into the Indian or English T20 team. We are talking about the Pakistani squad here.

With Sharjeel gone, Babar might be the first batsman to be picked even in T20s for Pakistan.
 
I see no issues with him. He's a fantastic batsmen. His partnership with Sanga was the only watchful batting display in Karachi team. I love watching him bat. Such a class act.
 
He needs time. Will go down as a brilliant t20 batsman. Fortunately Mickey sees that and is giving him an extended run. Should open in t20is too.
 
He was actually playing very well but then completely lost the plot after Gayle started tuk tuking.
 
He was playing well until Gayle came in and dried singles and doubles....

He played a very good knock vs Islamabad in that shortened match... I actually wasn't convinced with his ODI batting, but I feel he is trying to assert himself against the opposition in t20...

Being with Sanga should be a wonderful expereince for him..

Before Sanga got out both of them looked million dollars
 
Rana said:
No matter how immense his talent and ability is, Babar Azam's stats really dont tell the story of his not so impactous stay at the crease. Yes he is brilliant at piling up the runs however those runs must come at the right time in an innings where Pakistan or whatever team he represents can take the game by the scruff of the neck. Often gets so bogged down when he really should be excelling as a runs getter for his team.
Click to expand...

you literally invented a word 'impactuous' to diss azam here. good going

i think this is necessary for his development and good on mickey if he is trying him in that role. all we talk about here is that we need to give players a chance to improve and understand the requirements of the modern game and psl is the best opportunity to do that.

it is high key enough that it is taken seriously but not that high key where it becomes a matter of national retaliation against players. he did well in a couple of matches. was doing good today against quetta too who were bowling decently until gayle sipped entire life out of the innings.

needs more time and development and this is worth a try.
 
Saj said:
I'm not convinced.

His strike rate is a concern and his array of shots seems limited.

Yes he plays some wonderful shots, but it seems like just when he needs to kick on he plays a loose shot.

Strike rate of 116.66 at the current PSL which really is not good enough.
Click to expand...

Not only PSL,his T20 domestic strike rate is also pretty low and identical with 116.75.
But he is a very young lad with loads of talent and can vastly improve his game,especially his running between the wicket.
 
Open with him and ask him to bat through. If he scores 70 or 80 off 60 balls and the others get 85-95, we'll have a good total on the board. Not every batsman has to play the same role and no batsman is able to play each and every role.
 
waleed88 said:
He was playing well until Gayle came in and dried singles and doubles....

He played a very good knock vs Islamabad in that shortened match... I actually wasn't convinced with his ODI batting, but I feel he is trying to assert himself against the opposition in t20...

Being with Sanga should be a wonderful expereince for him..

Before Sanga got out both of them looked million dollars
Click to expand...

It's difficult to bat with the hack if you aren't one
 
Saj said:
I'm not convinced.

His strike rate is a concern and his array of shots seems limited.

Yes he plays some wonderful shots, but it seems like just when he needs to kick on he plays a loose shot.

Strike rate of 116.66 at the current PSL which really is not good enough.
Click to expand...

saj im hoping ur not expecting him to be the finished article just yet!!
give him time and he will get better.
should open for pak
 
Such a waste of player in t20s. I haven't forgiven him for that selfish 100 against Australia and now he's continuing his negative contribution for my PSL team. Definition of over hyped.
 
SaadAliG said:
Such a waste of player in t20s. I haven't forgiven him for that selfish 100 against Australia and now he's continuing his negative contribution for my PSL team. Definition of over hyped.
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Poor Karachi, the ATG Gayle who was scoring 5-ball hundreds has been demoted for Babar who is making 'negative contributions'. :yk2

Babar's SR which is on the lower side is a problem at times when he gets bogged down but KK have much bigger issues to figure out, such as:
  • Uninspiring captaincy
  • An icon player who looks like a West Indian version of Awais Zia
  • A dysfunctional middle/lower order
  • Inconsistent bowling
 
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SaadAliG said:
Such a waste of player in t20s. I haven't forgiven him for that selfish 100 against Australia and now he's continuing his negative contribution for my PSL team. Definition of over hyped.
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So bad the legion of upcoming bradmans Pakistan is blessed with arent getting a chance because of this over rated guy.
 
batting is seems hard batting first in the desert. Babar is still better then shehzad and shafiq who opened in last match. One slow match doesnt make him a bad batsmen or something... Gayle played slow as well sanga was slow..
ppl here are keen to jump horses.
 
SaadAliG said:
Such a waste of player in t20s. I haven't forgiven him for that selfish 100 against Australia and now he's continuing his negative contribution for my PSL team. Definition of over hyped.
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Babar is the future of Pakistan cricket. Pakistani fans are just impatient. He's already won Karachi one out of their two games single handedly
 
I have been saying this from day one. He is not cut for T20s; lacks the ability to hit big shots. Even in ODIs, he has struggled to get going in the the early stage of his innings. And, who can forget his selfish 100 in Australia.
 
aliasad1998 said:
Babar is the future of Pakistan cricket. Pakistani fans are just impatient. He's already won Karachi one out of their two games single handedly
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His selfish 100 against Australia will always be counted against him. dhabba laga dya apnay career per.
 
saeedhk said:
I have been saying this from day one. He is not cut for T20s; lacks the ability to hit big shots. Even in ODIs, he has struggled to get going in the the early stage of his innings. And, who can forget his selfish 100 in Australia.
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Hey man, Sachin has been called selfish a lot. And If Babar can get close to Sachin then I will be more than happy.
:srt :babar
 
srh said:
His selfish 100 against Australia will always be counted against him. dhabba laga dya apnay career per.
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It wasn't selfish by any means. He is new and still learning. It was his first tour to australia fgs.
 
I'm not sure if you've seen KL Rahul 2 to 3 years ago. He had a terrible SR but was a decent FC cricketer. He had many painful innings in IPL for SRH. But then something clicked and he has become an attacking cricketer. I think Babar and Rahul are comparable and I believe this will be very interesting to see how they shape their careers in the future. There is no reason why Babar can't increase his SR in the next 2 to 3 years. He can get stronger and improve his power game. He will gain confidence with more T20 games under his belt.
 
srh said:
His selfish 100 against Australia will always be counted against him. dhabba laga dya apnay career per.
Click to expand...

Scoring a hundred at 100 SR is selfish??? I guess you're going to say the rest of the players were selfless by gifting their wickets away.
 
Babar is incapable of scoring quickly and thus will never amount to anything in limited overs. What's worse unlike even Pujara, he has not made any efforts to recognize the issue and develop that side of his game.

The red flag is that he is in best form of his career and even now, his batting is very slow. You can debate about whether 40 (35) is OK in a T20 (and it's not) or whether 75 (100) is a good ODI contribution, but the reality is that this is what is happening when he's playing well. Every player has bad form and then these innings will be Asad Shafiq level 15 (35) and 9 (20) type innings.
 
rhony said:
I'm not sure if you've seen KL Rahul 2 to 3 years ago. He had a terrible SR but was a decent FC cricketer. He had many painful innings in IPL for SRH. But then something clicked and he has become an attacking cricketer. I think Babar and Rahul are comparable and I believe this will be very interesting to see how they shape their careers in the future. There is no reason why Babar can't increase his SR in the next 2 to 3 years. He can get stronger and improve his power game. He will gain confidence with more T20 games under his belt.
Click to expand...

That's actually an excellent example, but I don't think that Babar has the awareness that this is an area of his game that requires change.
 
CricketAnalyst said:
Babar is incapable of scoring quickly and thus will never amount to anything in limited overs. What's worse unlike even Pujara, he has not made any efforts to recognize the issue and develop that side of his game.

The red flag is that he is in best form of his career and even now, his batting is very slow. You can debate about whether 40 (35) is OK in a T20 (and it's not) or whether 75 (100) is a good ODI contribution, but the reality is that this is what is happening when he's playing well. Every player has bad form and then these innings will be Asad Shafiq level 15 (35) and 9 (20) type innings.
Click to expand...

CricketAnalyst said:
That's actually an excellent example, but I don't think that Babar has the awareness that this is an area of his game that requires change.
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You seem to forget that he is only 22, and has only been playing international cricket for 1.5 years. And that my friend, destroys every single one of your points.
 
Going to go down as our best ever limited overs batsman and that includes t20s
 
aliasad1998 said:
Going to go down as our best ever limited overs batsman and that includes t20s
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Hold your horses, we all want that to happen. However, we have seen with many batsmen before him that they fall by the wayside as their careers progress.
 
Syed1 said:
Hold your horses, we all want that to happen. However, we have seen with many batsmen before him that they fall by the wayside as their careers progress.
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The biggest difference between him and the others is that he has a very good head on his shoulders. He is not flashy unlike other 'sensational' players before. All he needs is a very good mentor that canhelp him improve his game and take it to the next level.
 
rhony said:
The biggest difference between him and the others is that he has a very good head on his shoulders. He is not flashy unlike other 'sensational' players before. All he needs is a very good mentor that canhelp him improve his game and take it to the next level.
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I loved it when he was batting with Sanga.

He would learn more from 1 innings of batting alongside Sanga then he will learn from a year of batting alongside Misbah, Asad, Hafeez, Azhar or YK (LOI)
 
Syed1 said:
I loved it when he was batting with Sanga.

He would learn more from 1 innings of batting alongside Sanga then he will learn from a year of batting alongside Misbah, Asad, Hafeez, Azhar or YK (LOI)
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Absolutely. He needs to make an effort to reach out to players like Sanga after PSL as well. That's the only way he can improve.
 
He has a brain. Hopefully no excuses if he doesn't standup to expectations.
 
Saj said:
I'm not convinced.

His strike rate is a concern and his array of shots seems limited.

Yes he plays some wonderful shots, but it seems like just when he needs to kick on he plays a loose shot.

Strike rate of 116.66 at the current PSL which really is not good enough.
Click to expand...

He just can't hit a six, that is where you have to admit that he can't play T-20's... Just one good performance in the PSL against IU, otherwise, He has played some good ODI knocks...
 
Azam is a terrific batsman and the way he's progressed in only this PSL is phenomenal. He's getting better with every game. This is why PSL is the best thing that's ever happened to Pakistan cricket, after Imran Khan. You get the same international match situation and you get to learn a lot. You can afford to lose a game and still find form.

PSL will change Azam as a player just the same way it positively impacted Rahul. Azam is a quick learner and I'm glad he's in company of Shoaib Malik who puts a lot of emphasis on fitness.
 
aliasad1998 said:
Gayles a hack. Babars done well. He's won Karachi one of their two games. He's the reason they got any momentum. Impatient Pakistani fans.
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That match against IU was a straight win, nothing else has been done the way it was expected to be.
 
Gayle will continue milking money from these leagues even if he doesn't score a single run for the rest of his life. Such is the reality of these T20 leagues who are more about the personlity of a player, rather than the quality.
 
aliasad1998 said:
Babar is the future of Pakistan cricket. Pakistani fans are just impatient. He's already won Karachi one out of their two games single handedly
Click to expand...
Lol, while needing 70 odd runs to win. He has been making negative contributions every game for Khi kings, continuing the trend from Aus ODIs.
 
ExpressPacer said:
Azam is a terrific batsman and the way he's progressed in only this PSL is phenomenal. He's getting better with every game. This is why PSL is the best thing that's ever happened to Pakistan cricket, after Imran Khan. You get the same international match situation and you get to learn a lot. You can afford to lose a game and still find form.

PSL will change Azam as a player just the same way it positively impacted Rahul. Azam is a quick learner and I'm glad he's in company of Shoaib Malik who puts a lot of emphasis on fitness.
Click to expand...

He is an incredibly gifted batter. Just a natural. At his age he is achieving big things. Finally found a world class batter. Need to find 3 more.
 
Flat_Track_Bully said:
He is an incredibly gifted batter. Just a natural. At his age he is achieving big things. Finally found a world class batter. Need to find 3 more.
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We found one in Sharjeel. Anyway, I'm not hopeless. I've really liked Talat thus far. Looks to be the left hand version of Babar. Even Zaman looks quality. Only if Sharjeel didn't fix. Oh well, to be honest, even Ahmed Shehzad's looking pretty good. There's plenty of spots up for grabs in the LOI squads, Rizwan, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Hafeez and even Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal are replaceable if they don't perform. So, we can definitely bring in new people and not have too much of a problem.
 
ExpressPacer said:
Azam is a terrific batsman and the way he's progressed in only this PSL is phenomenal. He's getting better with every game. This is why PSL is the best thing that's ever happened to Pakistan cricket, after Imran Khan. You get the same international match situation and you get to learn a lot. You can afford to lose a game and still find form.

PSL will change Azam as a player just the same way it positively impacted Rahul. Azam is a quick learner and I'm glad he's in company of Shoaib Malik who puts a lot of emphasis on fitness.
Click to expand...

Which players have improved or had their breakthrough moment because of the PSL? All I hear is the same Kamran, Misbah, Hafeez and U. Akmal getting the runs.
 
A top-class batsman, who's really good against pace despite his failure in Australia, I still rate him very high....BUT as far as T-20's are concerned, His innings play an important part in loosing the match for his team.
 
Bilal7 said:
Which players have improved or had their breakthrough moment because of the PSL? All I hear is the same Kamran, Misbah, Hafeez and U. Akmal getting the runs.
Click to expand...

We've seen Sharjeel make his mark. I don't think I need to say too much about that.

Hasan Ali has come up through the ranks.

Anyway, that's not the point. Talat, Zaman and all these young lads are doing good. Thats where the PSL is good.
 
ExpressPacer said:
We've seen Sharjeel make his mark. I don't think I need to say too much about that.

Hasan Ali has come up through the ranks.

Anyway, that's not the point. Talat, Zaman and all these young lads are doing good. Thats where the PSL is good.
Click to expand...

Yes, the PSL has definitely done wonders for Sharjeel's promising LOI career. He definitely doesn't regret being involved in this circus.

Hassan Ali isn't a PSL product but a FC and List A one. We'll see if Talat and Zaman are the real deals or not when and if they get picked to play for Pakistan.
 
Saj said:
I'm not convinced.

His strike rate is a concern and his array of shots seems limited.

Yes he plays some wonderful shots, but it seems like just when he needs to kick on he plays a loose shot.

Strike rate of 116.66 at the current PSL which really is not good enough.
Click to expand...

Bump. Agree with Saj.
 
just plain horrible; will lose his team matches again and again :facepalm:
 
Azam seems to be a finesse player. He does not look strong enough to clear boundary ropes at will.

Him opening the innings in a chase is a recipe for disaster. He plays too slowly and when he scores a 50, he has already eaten 8 overs himself.

Azam is still new and young. When his body matures, he will develop some brute strength too. Or work out like Kohli, improve fitness and run singles and doubles like a gazelle.
 
He should remain at number 3 in loi, this should be the batting order in CT:

1. Shehzad
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Babar Azam
4. Malik
5. Sarfaraz
6. Hussain Talat
7. Shadab Khan
 
I'd prefer it if they only selected him in Tests and ODIs. I feel that picking him in T20Is could spoil his batting.
 
50/50 in this PSL.

At times, he looked like he could play freely and cater to the needs of T20.

Other times, he struggled and was wasting deliveries.
 
Babar is still figuring his strong and weak zones. He's a risk free player. They naturally take a bit longer in T20s. Once they do figure it out, their consistency is unmatched.
 
Better than the rest because he can develop and has loads of talent. What about players who are old and refuse to develop after playing for numerous years. Like the selfie king or his very own cousins..
 
He is and was totally overrated, but that said he's still one of the best batters in the side, plenty more in the chopping block queue ahead of him.
 
Babar is a great prospect for ODIs and Tests but he wont set the world alight in T20Is needs time to get going.
 
only 1 player in the top 5 should be like this kind of player and that player should be Malik. The other 4 should be hitters
 
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