"We didn't score enough runs as we failed to utilize the middle overs" : Babar Azam

[MenInG]

Babar speaking at end of the match:

"Yes, today we didn't score enough runs as we failed to utilize the middle overs during our innings so we couldn't score the total we were expecting to score today"

"Back to back wickets fell for us today and we couldn't build good partnerships which is why we couldn't make a good total today"

"The wicket was similar to what it was yesterday but we did not perform as well in our bowling and there were some minor mistakes due to which we lost the game"

"Of course South Africa, like any other side, had their plans against us and they were successful in executing them but hopefully the result will be different tomorrow"

"We will think about our strategy in the morning and you will see a better performance from us tomorrow"

 

[MHN1293]

He needs to step up both in batting and in selections. Hasnain and danish both need to get a game. Kushdil and iftikhar can no longer be in the same lineup.

 

[Madplayer]

Babar LBW Azam needs to stop getting Lbw so many times. Soon he will be giving Shane Watson's Lbw record tough competition. He needs to score a 70-80 in next match at 180 strike rate.

 

[DeadBall]

Yai humari team hai
Yai hum hai
Yai humari khuwari ho rahi hai

 

[AAli98]

Overrated player. Believing in his own hype. A’la Shehzad, Umar akmal, Safraz

 

[UzmanBeast]

Overrated player. Believing in his own hype. A’la Shehzad, Umar akmal, Safraz

Lol without Babar this team would be ranked 7th and below in all formats, so calling him overrated makes no sense.

Three series where he has not performed, the T20 team has lost.

SL - 3-0 whitewash , New Zealand 2-1 , Now here, 1-1 so far.

He's not the issue, it's the fact that nobody stands up when he doesn't performing.

 

[Mamoon]

Babar is overhyped by desperate fans but it is not his problem. He is a high quality batsman and easily the best Pakistan has produced in a very long time.

The issue is his fans have gone overboard with the hype and starting comparing him to ATGs like Kohli when he was never in that league.

He is an excellent batsman but not in the league of Kohli, Smith, Williamson, Root and Rohit etc.

At no point over the last couple of years was he the best batsman in the world or even in the top 3.

It was just a case of his fans repeating the same lie over and over again until it became a generally accepted fact among Pakistan cricket fans.

He is a solid B+ batsman but the reason why he is overhyped beyond his actual performance and capabilities is because all other established batsmen in Pakistan are C and D category.

Pakistan’s batting culture is very poor. Babar is the first Pakistani batsman since Mohammad Yousuf who has the game for all formats, so the fans got carried away.

If Babar was India he would be treated as just a good young batsman and nothing more. He wouldn’t even be a certain starter because there is no room for him in the Indian top-order and he cannot bat anywhere else.

There is little difference between players like Babar, Iyer, Agarwal etc. Imagine the hype and the spotlight the likes of Iyer and Agarwal would receive in Pakistan cricket.

Someone like KL Rahul would be a bonafide superstar in Pakistan and would have been the captain across all formats for a number of years now.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

Babar's mode of dismissals have been very concerning. Is captaincy damaging his batting? Are bowlers working him out? Babar the batsman is more important than Babar the captain for Pakistan... I rest my case

 

[RyanRyan10]

Overrated player. Believing in his own hype. A’la Shehzad, Umar akmal, Safraz

Babar is a nice bloke

Not in the league of Fab4, still way better than the names you mentioned.

 

[hitthestump]

Overrated player. Believing in his own hype. A’la Shehzad, Umar akmal, Safraz

He is not overhyped. He is 10x more talented than those lot but he does have the mental strength of Asad Shafiq. He was never going to be the Root/Williamson of Pakistan because he is not a leader and not capable under pressure. Let alone captaining Pakistan which is the hardest job in cricket.

 

[Ozeirk]

I think it's too early to write Babar off as just a good batsman and nothing else. He has consistently performed for Pakistan in all formats and his performances could have had a much bigger impact if the batsmen around him would have supported him.

If Kohli is great he has the likes of Rohit to hold the other end. If Root is a champion then Buttler, Stokes and Bairstow have complimented him well. Williamson gets good support from Taylor and others.

Babar has already gave us many match winning performances and I believe he will continue to do so.

 

[PakPremi]

Babar is overhyped by desperate fans but it is not his problem. He is a high quality batsman and easily the best Pakistan has produced in a very long time.

The issue is his fans have gone overboard with the hype and starting comparing him to ATGs like Kohli when he was never in that league.

He is an excellent batsman but not in the league of Kohli, Smith, Williamson, Root and Rohit etc.

At no point over the last couple of years was he the best batsman in the world or even in the top 3.

It was just a case of his fans repeating the same lie over and over again until it became a generally accepted fact among Pakistan cricket fans.

He is a solid B+ batsman but the reason why he is overhyped beyond his actual performance and capabilities is because all other established batsmen in Pakistan are C and D category.

Pakistan’s batting culture is very poor. Babar is the first Pakistani batsman since Mohammad Yousuf who has the game for all formats, so the fans got carried away.

If Babar was India he would be treated as just a good young batsman and nothing more. He wouldn’t even be a certain starter because there is no room for him in the Indian top-order and he cannot bat anywhere else.

There is little difference between players like Babar, Iyer, Agarwal etc. Imagine the hype and the spotlight the likes of Iyer and Agarwal would receive in Pakistan cricket.

Someone like KL Rahul would be a bonafide superstar in Pakistan and would have been the captain across all formats for a number of years now.

Kohli keeps getting out for ducks or low score too. It makes no difference he in the league of top 4 or not, he has been nothing short of brilliant for Pak especially in shorter format,and he will score again the next inni g or the one after.

 

[Hasan123]

Overrated player. Believing in his own hype. A’la Shehzad, Umar akmal, Safraz

Just because someone doesn’t perform it doesn’t mean they believe there own hype. Babar was always going go through a run of form where he didn’t score.

 

[PakPremi]

He is not overhyped. He is 10x more talented than those lot but he does have the mental strength of Asad Shafiq. He was never going to be the Root/Williamson of Pakistan because he is not a leader and not capable under pressure. Let alone captaining Pakistan which is the hardest job in cricket.

So all the runs and centuries he scored were gifted to him against good teams?
The top batsmen in Pak always scores under pressure as there is no support on the other end as Rizwan is now finding when the only one capable of supporting him adequately Babar got out early.

 

[Hasan123]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] is right. Babar is not in the class of the fab 4, I don’t think he is overrated. I think some of our fans overate him. He still hasn’t shown he can consistently score against top teams, score in pressure situations consistently, and score centuries outside of Asia. He is 26 so this can change but I don’t think it will change so much where he surpasses the fab 4.

He is still a quality player but there is no need to put him in a class where he doesn’t belong, I don’t get the desperation of some to put him in there as if he we get a trophy or something for it. )

 

[PakPremi]

Just because someone doesn’t perform it doesn’t mean they believe there own hype. Babar was always going go through a run of form where he didn’t score.

He is one of the most hardest working player and always looking to improve, fans act like I ternatio Al cricket is easy you just turn up and runs begin to flow and bowlers do not try to get you out. Kohli got out early in the first innings of both tests, if it was Babar we be labelling him finished already.

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

And you didn’t score ANY runs. 5 failures in 6 innings at home. Remaining one innings, got out playing a careless and an immature shot, which could’ve changed the result of the match if not for Faheem and Rizwan

 

[Hasan123]

He is one of the most hardest working player and always looking to improve, fans act like I ternatio Al cricket is easy you just turn up and runs begin to flow and bowlers do not try to get you out. Kohli got out early in the first innings of both tests, if it was Babar we be labelling him finished already.

Players go through bad form. It was always going to happen eventually. For Pakistan sake they have to hope it doesn’t last too long.

 

[PakPremi]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] is right. Babar is not in the class of the fab 4, I don’t think he is overrated. I think some of our fans overate him. He still hasn’t shown he can consistently score against top teams, score in pressure situations consistently, and score centuries outside of Asia. He is 26 so this can change but I don’t think it will change so much where he surpasses the fab 4.

He is still a quality player but there is no need to put him in a class where he doesn’t belong, I don’t get the desperation of some to put him in there as if he we get a trophy or something for it. )

Inzi, Yusuf or Younis were never in class of fab 4, so does not matter as long as they were serving Pak well often. Babar is still young and burdened with captaincy too early, but he will I am sure capable of his balancing out his batting and captaincy in time.

 

[Hasan123]

Inzi, Yusuf or Younis were never in class of fab 4, so does not matter as long as they were serving Pak well often. Babar is still young and burdened with captaincy too early, but he will I am sure capable of his balancing out his batting and captaincy in time.

Yep you are right. I think Babar will do a good job as captain in terms of his own personal performance. In terms of results it will be difficult due to the quality of players. But as long as he doesn’t consistently cost us tactically, I will be fine with him performing with the bat.

 

[hitthestump]

So all the runs and centuries he scored were gifted to him against good teams?
The top batsmen in Pak always scores under pressure as there is no support on the other end as Rizwan is now finding when the only one capable of supporting him adequately Babar got out early.

All of Babar's top innings have come in fair weather conditions where the match isn't in a crucial situation, the pitch is good or the opposition aren't anything special. He has precisely zero match winning knocks in difficult or pressure situations. Go find a scorecard which contradicts me if you can.

 

[Saj]

It wasn't just the middle overs where the problem was though.

The first few overs weren't great, the middle overs poor and the end of the innings was only given a lift due to Faheem, otherwise Pakistan would have got around 120 to 125.

 

[PakPremi]

All of Babar's top innings have come in fair weather conditions where the match isn't in a crucial situation, the pitch is good or the opposition aren't anything special. He has precisely zero match winning knocks in difficult or pressure situations. Go find a scorecard which contradicts me if you can.

I already told you almost all his innings are pressure situation as he bats for Pakistan, if it was so easy scoring runs against the teams he scored or the pitches he scored we would have atleast three more batsmen with similar stats as him. The fact that when he gets out our team together cannot score the runs he normally scores alone shows you his class.

 

[shamaan]

Babar needs to step up with the bat in the decider

 

[Mamoon]

Kohli keeps getting out for ducks or low score too. It makes no difference he in the league of top 4 or not, he has been nothing short of brilliant for Pak especially in shorter format,and he will score again the next inni g or the one after.

If Babar can hit 70 international hundreds at an average of 50+ by the age of 32, and break all sort of batting records as captain, I won’t mind seeing him go through a little rough patch.

The reality is that even if Kohli retires today and Babar plays for another 15 years, he is highly unlikely to reach a level where he would merit a comparison with Kohli, simply because there is a big gulf between the two in terms of skill and mentality.

Kohli is a league above any batsman Pakistan has ever produced. Babar has the potential to become Pakistan’s greatest batsman, but he has a long, long way to go before he can reach the level of Miandad, Yousuf, Inzamam and Younis in Test cricket.

Perhaps he should first reach their level before his fans start making comparisons with players like Kohli.

 

[hitthestump]

I already told you almost all his innings are pressure situation as he bats for Pakistan, if it was so easy scoring runs against the teams he scored or the pitches he scored we would have atleast three more batsmen with similar stats as him. The fact that when he gets out our team together cannot score the runs he normally scores alone shows you his class.

I agree with you that Babar can handle the day to day pressure of being the best bat in the team. This is noteworthy. But there is a clear threshold where once things get just a little rough he crumbles. There is no scorecard that exists yet where Babar has won or saved a match for Pakistan from a uniquely tough position.

 

[shamaan]

Lol without Babar this team would be ranked 7th and below in all formats, so calling him overrated makes no sense.

Three series where he has not performed, the T20 team has lost.

SL - 3-0 whitewash , New Zealand 2-1 , Now here, 1-1 so far.

He's not the issue, it's the fact that nobody stands up when he doesn't performing.

Deluded fans think he is the issue

 

[MHN1293]

Babar is overhyped by desperate fans but it is not his problem. He is a high quality batsman and easily the best Pakistan has produced in a very long time.

The issue is his fans have gone overboard with the hype and starting comparing him to ATGs like Kohli when he was never in that league.

He is an excellent batsman but not in the league of Kohli, Smith, Williamson, Root and Rohit etc.

At no point over the last couple of years was he the best batsman in the world or even in the top 3.

It was just a case of his fans repeating the same lie over and over again until it became a generally accepted fact among Pakistan cricket fans.

He is a solid B+ batsman but the reason why he is overhyped beyond his actual performance and capabilities is because all other established batsmen in Pakistan are C and D category.

Pakistan’s batting culture is very poor. Babar is the first Pakistani batsman since Mohammad Yousuf who has the game for all formats, so the fans got carried away.

If Babar was India he would be treated as just a good young batsman and nothing more. He wouldn’t even be a certain starter because there is no room for him in the Indian top-order and he cannot bat anywhere else.

There is little difference between players like Babar, Iyer, Agarwal etc. Imagine the hype and the spotlight the likes of Iyer and Agarwal would receive in Pakistan cricket.

Someone like KL Rahul would be a bonafide superstar in Pakistan and would have been the captain across all formats for a number of years now.

One question why do you rate rohit above warner.

 

[Ozeirk]

All of Babar's top innings have come in fair weather conditions where the match isn't in a crucial situation, the pitch is good or the opposition aren't anything special. He has precisely zero match winning knocks in difficult or pressure situations. Go find a scorecard which contradicts me if you can.

The newzealand game in the world Cup. All the t20s Pakistan has played in the last year or so.

 

[Ozeirk]

He is not overhyped. He is 10x more talented than those lot but he does have the mental strength of Asad Shafiq. He was never going to be the Root/Williamson of Pakistan because he is not a leader and not capable under pressure. Let alone captaining Pakistan which is the hardest job in cricket.

I want to understand on what basis have you reached the conclusion that he doesn't perform well under pressure. How many times have we seen him continue while wickets are falling all around him. Also, his record as captain is pretty good so far. Based on one loss you have concluded he is not a good captain?

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

There is little difference between players like Babar, Iyer, Agarwal etc. Imagine the hype and the spotlight the likes of Iyer and Agarwal would receive in Pakistan cricket.

There is a world of difference between Babar and Mayank, iyers etc etc.
Agree with everything else you posted but this bit is just exaggeration.
Mayank was getting cleaned up by starc and company and his technique was exposed, Babar would never get humiliated in such a way. Babar is in a different league.
The less said about Iyer the better, he can't play short pitch stuff to save his life
But yeah these two are definitely better than all the others you have(except maybe Rizwan).

 

[Mamoon]

One question why do you rate rohit above warner.

Warner cannot play spin or any lateral movement. Rohit struggles against movement but he is miles ahead of Warner when it comes to playing spin.

In spite of being an Indian, Rohit is a better player of the short ball than Warner is.

Rohit is a better batsman than him in all formats of the game. Warner has had a better Test career because Australia persisted with him as an opener and believed in his match-winning abilities in spite of his overseas struggles.

On the other hand, India delayed Rohit’s opening career in Test cricket because of the useless assumption that he is not going to do well in XYZ countries, but the important venue for any team is home, because that is where you play most of your matches.

Rohit has been the best Indian Test opener in Indian/Asian conditions for 5-6 years now, but India couldn’t see it.

 

[Mamoon]

There is a world of difference between Babar and Mayank, iyers etc etc.
Agree with everything else you posted but this bit is just exaggeration.
Mayank was getting cleaned up by starc and company and his technique was exposed, Babar would never get humiliated in such a way. Babar is in a different league.
The less said about Iyer the better, he can't play short pitch stuff to save his life
But yeah these two are definitely better than all the others you have(except maybe Rizwan).

Iyer averaged 45-50 in ODI cricket at a SR of 100. He averaged 52 in FC.

If he plays Tests, he would average in the mid 40s just like Babar. There isn’t any significant difference between the two.

You put Iyer and Babar in the same team and Babar will not look a class apart.

If Babar was Indian his career so far would not have been much different. Just a handful of LOI matches and no Tests yet.

On the other hand, Iyer would be captaining Pakistan today.

Agarwal’s defensive technique might be exposed in Australia but he scored 200s against South Africa at home.

In terms of playing spin and temperament, he is streets ahead of Babar. You put them in the same Test team and Agarwal will be more prolific than Babar especially at home.

The standards of Indian batting and Pakistan batting are not comparable. Our best batsmen are just good by Indian standards and criteria.

 

[Kaka4pope]

Babars dismissals look laid back and repeatedly being unprepared to give the full face of the bat, taking liberties trying to play on the leg side.

He doesn’t really get out to snorters does he? It reminds me of Root early in his career.

His captaincy needs work for sure, the later he brought back Shaheen yesterday, the more the miracle that would have been needed.

 

[UzmanBeast]

I see two reasons as to why Babar isn't performing well ever since his return from injury:

Either he is being overburdened by the captaincy of all 3 formats (highly probable given that he's just 27 years of age).

My second reason is that he is extremely short on confidence. Yes, he might have made technical faults against Maharaj but usually he comes back from poor form in the span of one or two innings. He hasn't come out of that form yet, and it is leaving a few questionmarks.

When a player isn't scoring runs or taking wickets, and is also simultaneously the captain of the team, a lot more pressure falls down on you. With a team such as Pakistan, that pressure mounts even higher because the players hardly ever perform well.

He's also a young captain, so he's going to make mistakes. Hopefully he gets runs today, needs runs ahead of the PSL.

I hope that Babar has learned not to bowl Haris Rauf in the powerplay, and also that Khushdil + Iftikhar have had enough opportunities to play in the MO.

 

[Mamoon]

Pakistan batsmen have no temperament and it is a failure of our batting culture. It takes 5-6 years for them to develop the mentality and appetite for big runs.

Azhar took 6 years to get his first double, Shafiq never got there, even Younis took about 5 years to develop that temperament.

Babar is into his 5th year as a Test cricketer and he still cannot do it.

On the other hand, Indian batsmen hardly take any time to play long innings at Test level.

Even Fawad Alam with 160+ FC matches and 12k runs couldn’t do against South Africa at home what the likes of Agarwal did in 2019 or what Karun Nair did against England in 2016.

Gill hasn’t converted yet but you can tell that it is only a matter of few matches before he notched up a double hundred or something.

 

[Hasan]

Babar is a wonderful batsman who is experiencing a bit of a slump in form. Certainly within the best of the game and it’s only a matter of time before he back to his world class best.

Nothing better to watch than babar in full flow especially his cover driver must be one of the best.

 

[Azrim_91]

Pakistan batsmen have no temperament and it is a failure of our batting culture. It takes 5-6 years for them to develop the mentality and appetite for big runs.

Azhar took 6 years to get his first double, Shafiq never got there, even Younis took about 5 years to develop that temperament.

Babar is into his 5th year as a Test cricketer and he still cannot do it.

On the other hand, Indian batsmen hardly take any time to play long innings at Test level.

Even Fawad Alam with 160+ FC matches and 12k runs couldn’t do against South Africa at home what the likes of Agarwal did in 2019 or what Karun Nair did against England in 2016.

Gill hasn’t converted yet but you can tell that it is only a matter of few matches before he notched up a double hundred or something.

I think I’ve said this before but you cannot compare Indian batsmen directly to Babar Azam. The reason Kohli, rohit and co and achieved so much is because they have been around solid players their whole playing career. This makes a huge difference. I guarantee you that if Babar had played for the Indian team he would’ve been on kohli’s level. Babar made his debut around players like Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Sohaib Maqsood back in 2016. We expect too much from one single player.

 

[Mamoon]

I think I’ve said this before but you cannot compare Indian batsmen directly to Babar Azam. The reason Kohli, rohit and co and achieved so much is because they have been around solid players their whole playing career. This makes a huge difference. I guarantee you that if Babar had played for the Indian team he would’ve been on kohli’s level. Babar made his debut around players like Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Sohaib Maqsood back in 2016. We expect too much from one single player.

Kohli is Kohli. Even other Indian batsmen of his generation have not reached his level in spite of having the same exposure that he did.

Babar has a lot of talent but he is soft and timid. He doesn’t have the same aggression and competitive spirit that Kohli has.

If Babar was Indian he might be slightly better but not Kohli level, and if Kohli was Pakistani, he might be slightly inferior but he would still be ahead of Babar.

A lot of Kohli’s success is down to his own nature and personality and not just because of the cricket culture of India.

Rohit Sharma is a modern batting great, an absolutely brilliant player, but he doesn’t have the same work ethic and attitude that Kohli does. You can tell that he doesn’t have the same hunger and desire. He has been lazy throughout his career.

But he has unreal talent, far more than Kohli and probably on par with Tendulkar. If he had Kohli like attitude and determination he could have surpassed Tendulkar in all formats.

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

Babar is not handling the captaincy well, i guess we need him more as a batsman than a captain.