[PICTURES/VIDEOS] What now for Babar Azam?

[zaidihusain]

After a horrid 2003 World Cup, Inzamam was dropped for a few months. He returned for the Bangladesh series, scored that famous ton at Multan, and the rest is history.

A spell on the sidelines could be the best thing for Babar.

When the likes of Inzi, Waqar, Shoaib Akhtar can be sidelined for non-performance then who is Babar Azam? After 2003 WC horror, South Africa got rid of Gary Kristen, Allan Donald, Jonty Rhodes. Eng excluded someone like KP, Australia kicked out Symonds but here fans are crying about Babar

 

[Mamoon]

Please don't ridicule Kohli by comparing him with Babar. Kohli had won test series in Australia, you need to look at Kohli's overall record in Australia. What Babar has won for Pakistan in any format against any team? Whenever team needs him most, he is the first one to surrender. Timely self assessment / introspection is much needed for every professional which is clearly missing in Babar's case. Have you noticed single improvement in Babar's technique since his early days? He should go back to domestics and rediscover.

No one is comparing the two. All I’m saying is that successful players are not dropped for poor form especially when they still have mileage left.

Babar is 29/30, not 35. He is entering his prime now and it is not the end of the world if he is out of form. Players better than Babar have had similar poor runs of form in their careers.

 

[Markhor]

When the likes of Inzi, Waqar, Shoaib Akhtar can be sidelined for non-performance then who is Babar Azam? After 2003 WC horror, South Africa got rid of Gary Kristen, Allan Donald, Jonty Rhodes. Eng excluded someone like KP, Australia kicked out Symonds but here fans are crying about Babar

Good thing we've seen with Jason Gillespie is his willingness to make big decisions. He's already dropped Shaheen. Hopefully Babar will be next.

Shan's position is also untenable after this series.

 

[Savak]

Good thing we've seen with Jason Gillespie is his willingness to make big decisions. He's already dropped Shaheen. Hopefully Babar will be next.

Shan's position is also untenable after this series.

A sports reporter mentioned that Gillespie has put the entire team on notice in a team meeting especially the senior players and has said he is prepared to overhaul the team, go in for a rookie eleven if needed

 

[jnaveen1980]

He has to focus on maintaining his insane fitness levels.

 

[dravidthewall]

He has to go back domestic and gain his form back. This too shall pass

 

[Rana]

Good thing we've seen with Jason Gillespie is his willingness to make big decisions. He's already dropped Shaheen. Hopefully Babar will be next.

Shan's position is also untenable after this series.

All it takes is one stupid decision to appoint Rizwan (the man who thrives on the misery of others) to be appointed captain, and you will see Babar and Shaheen back.

 

[Rana]

A sports reporter mentioned that Gillespie has put the entire team on notice in a team meeting especially the senior players and has said he is prepared to overhaul the team, go in for a rookie eleven if needed

Oh yar kaunsa sports reporter?

 

[PakFan2010]

Babar has been found out by teams.

 

[Rana]

Babar has been found out by teams.

Tbh, the only person to find him out and clearly declare it was Aqib Javed in T20s

“The aim is to not get Babar out”

 

[YousafTheBeast]

I’m not even a fan of Masood, I think he shouldn’t be in the team let alone be the captain.

However, the fact he’s scored more runs than Babar in this series tells me enough about “King Babar”.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

No one is comparing the two. All I’m saying is that successful players are not dropped for poor form especially when they still have mileage left.

Babar is 29/30, not 35. He is entering his prime now and it is not the end of the world if he is out of form. Players better than Babar have had similar poor runs of form in their careers.

“successful players are not dropped for poor form”

This is simply not true — of the top of my head, I can recall both Joe Root and David Gower being dropped from England for poor form.
Both are significantly better players than Babar will ever be.

The challenge is that, in the absence of any decent first class structure, how will he regain form ?

The argument that there are no better players in Pakistan is moot — either you are scoring runs or you are not.
You don’t live on reputation, other than perhaps in the subcontinent.

 

[Asad T]

Don't worry, if he can make it in the playing XI till November, his place in the side will be secured for another 3 years:

 

[KP From India]

No need to rush irrational decisions. Baabar is too good a player. Will eventually hit form in next 7-8 tests. Form temporary Class parmanent.

 

[Dhakar Pola]

It doesn’t get easier from here btw.

3 Tests v England
2 v South Africa in South Africa

10 more testing innings coming up against high quality bowling attacks.

Up to the team management really? You can either destroy him completely by letting him continue or you can carry on hoping. It’s clear that the guy is really lacking hunger and desire at the moment

He needs a break. 5 tests against high quality bowling of Eng and SA is not going to help his morale

 

[Dhakar Pola]

Don't worry, if he can make it in the playing XI till November, his place in the side will be secured for another 3 years:

I think he was waiting for BD too..what makes you think Zim will not also torment him

 

[jnaveen1980]

No need to rush irrational decisions. Baabar is too good a player. Will eventually hit form in next 7-8 tests. Form temporary Class parmanent.

His form would have been ignored if Pakistan was not going to lose the series to BD. He is holding a key batting spot. Even half decent innings would have avoided series defeat for Pakistan. So he will be criticized.

 

[TeymurBlake]

He needs to be dropped, but more players need to dropped as well.

Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique & Shan Masood as well deserve to be dropped.

 

[ataullah]

A sports reporter mentioned that Gillespie has put the entire team on notice in a team meeting especially the senior players and has said he is prepared to overhaul the team, go in for a rookie eleven if needed

I just hope they don't fire Gillespie. Rookies would be best with some domestic players who toiled

 

[Buffet]

Hope for Bangbabar is dashed.

Time to focus on enhancing Zimbabar tag.

 

[Hitman]

Pakistani fans, much like Indian fans, are by nature impatient. To my knowledge, the only couple of batsmen with a long career who did not go through a rough phase are Don Bradman and Garry Sobers. Although Sobers was an all rounder (the greatest one), his primary skill set was batting.​

 

[Asad T]

I think he was waiting for BD too..what makes you think Zim will not also torment him

Zimbabwe will definitely torment him. They have some good upcoming bowlers now

 

[TheSultan]

Why is it so sacred to keep babar in the team. What’s the worse that can happen if you drop him? Lose to Bangladesh?

 

[mominsaigol]

Pakistani fans, much like Indian fans, are by nature impatient. To my knowledge, the only couple of batsmen with a long career who did not go through a rough phase are Don Bradman and Garry Sobers. Although Sobers was an all rounder (the greatest one), his primary skill set was batting.​

Theirs a difference and proper analysts know it.

The likes of kohli never had fitness issues, nor did he have ego issues. When he was out of form you always felt he would bounce back cause he's the same kohli at the end of the day.

Current babar is unfit, and unlike kohli he

A) Doesnt like working with batting coached or even listening or taking advice.

B) Makes excuses for improving his game.

Issues vs spin, issues with strike rate and game awareness and learning the art of winning games which even his past representatives like Yousaf, Anwar etc knew how to do, He hasn't honored it.

Yousaf is superior to Babar in every metric be it technique, Timing, Game wins, awareness, sr(Strike rate for his era). And yet he was hyped up as a marketing machine like fake king.

You don't magically come back in form with a poor attitude, poor fitness and lack of desire to represent your nation.

 

[Dhakar Pola]

Why is it so sacred to keep babar in the team. What’s the worse that can happen if you drop him? Lose to Bangladesh?

Lose to Zim

 

[Rana]

I just hope they don't fire Gillespie. Rookies would be best with some domestic players who toiled

Shan and Gillespie trying to run a county team with guys who are fit for a madrasa cricket club

 

[mominsaigol]

Lose to Zim

That'll happen regardless.

Pakistan is in no condition to beat any team atm, besides the worst of the worst like Nepal and even then I'm scared that they won't be able to on a curated pitch.

It's literally fakhar or bust, that's what Pakistan had been reduced to.

The team is mentally shot. Bamgaldesh vs Pakistan test series reminded me of rocky vs clubber lang( 1st fight) .

Lang clobbered rocky no diff however even before the fight started, just from eye contact and body language you could tell lang was going to win, Dude didn't take rocky seriously at all.

And yes ik it's a hollywood movie but that's the analogy I'm making, it applies here. I've been looking at the body language and it seems bamgaldesh is just time wasting. Their not giving a khaoot about pakistan. That's the gap between the 2 atm.

 

[Savak]

If you observe the Babar of 2018-20 with the Babar of 2024, you will be shocked at the difference in footwork, playing away from the body and how cease bound he is in general.

His lack of fitness has clearly had an impact on his batting. Needs to go back to the basics

 

[TheSultan]

That'll happen regardless.

Pakistan is in no condition to beat any team atm, besides the worst of the worst like Nepal and even then I'm scared that they won't be able to on a curated pitch.

It's literally fakhar or bust, that's what Pakistan had been reduced to.

The team is mentally shot. Bamgaldesh vs Pakistan test series reminded me of rocky vs clubber lang( 1st fight) .

Lang clobbered rocky no diff however even before the fight started, just from eye contact and body language you could tell lang was going to win, Dude didn't take rocky seriously at all.

And yes ik it's a hollywood movie but that's the analogy I'm making, it applies here. I've been looking at the body language and it seems bamgaldesh is just time wasting. Their not giving a khaoot about pakistan. That's the gap between the 2 atm.

The analogy is correct. As someone said on another thread, they don’t wanna be there.

Surely there’s gotta be someone in the pcb whose ego is bruised by this defeat and wants to rectify? Right?

Sad thing is I don’t think there is.

Where is the Apollo Creed to get the eye of the tiger back?

 

[mominsaigol]

The analogy is correct. As someone said on another thread, they don’t wanna be there.

Surely there’s gotta be someone in the pcb whose ego is bruised by this defeat and wants to rectify? Right?

Sad thing is I don’t think there is.

Where is the Apollo Creed to get the eye of the tiger back?

The apollo creed was sarfraz in 2017, before 2016 pakistan under axhar got whitewashed by bangaldesh, got butchered to no 9 rank by every team.

Sarfi came in and changed the game. People literally have no clue and are ungrateful because they look at stats for rizzu and sarfi and can't distinguish beyond that.

Satfi was a leader that many juniors at the time respected and he forced this team to go beyond their capabilities.

I remember when hasan ali bowled and celebrated, and sarfi came and shouted at him telling him to shut up and go back to bowling. Now we have shaheen celebrating like a chimpanzee on getting hasan mahmud out in the first Test as his only wicket. What a joke.

The reason why Pakistan under sarfi could beat England in their home den despite being outmatched was due to morale. He instilled the belief of a champion team and was able to shake himself off and players off from crushing defeats.

To top it off he never massaged anyone's ego, fakhar was the X factor, Babar television accumulator, Sohail the aggressor, Malik, imad and hafeez the allrounders, azhar the opener.

This whole babar is king and the whole team having to suck to massage the ego's of bobby and rizzu and this dosti yaari culture was never present.

Pakistan literally lost a gem ever since you brought Misbah back.

All those who are claiming nonsense such as Sarfi did this against wi and this in test. Oh bhai, Abhi team ki shakal dekhi hai? Babar, Shan, Rizwan, Misbah, Ramiz and naqvi ran it into the ground and now it's actually unrepairable

Sarfi will now remain as the last captain ever to win a cup. Pakistan is finished in cricket. It's just falhar or bust now fakhar himself will get older and decline soon, cause he's close to 35 now.

 

[mominsaigol]

The apollo creed was sarfraz in 2017, before 2016 pakistan under axhar got whitewashed by bangaldesh, got butchered to no 9 rank by every team.

Sarfi came in and changed the game. People literally have no clue and are ungrateful because they look at stats for rizzu and sarfi and can't distinguish beyond that.

Satfi was a leader that many juniors at the time respected and he forced this team to go beyond their capabilities.

I remember when hasan ali bowled and celebrated, and sarfi came and shouted at him telling him to shut up and go back to bowling. Now we have shaheen celebrating like a chimpanzee on getting hasan mahmud out in the first Test as his only wicket. What a joke.

The reason why Pakistan under sarfi could beat England in their home den despite being outmatched was due to morale. He instilled the belief of a champion team and was able to shake himself off and players off from crushing defeats.

To top it off he never massaged anyone's ego, fakhar was the X factor, Babar television accumulator, Sohail the aggressor, Malik, imad and hafeez the allrounders, azhar the opener.

This whole babar is king and the whole team having to suck to massage the ego's of bobby and rizzu and this dosti yaari culture was never present.

Pakistan literally lost a gem ever since you brought Misbah back.

All those who are claiming nonsense such as Sarfi did this against wi and this in test. Oh bhai, Abhi team ki shakal dekhi hai? Babar, Shan, Rizwan, Misbah, Ramiz and naqvi ran it into the ground and now it's actually unrepairable

Sarfi will now remain as the last captain ever to win a cup. Pakistan is finished in cricket. It's just falhar or bust now fakhar himself will get older and decline soon, cause he's close to 35 now.

Tontop it off, Sarfi also changed the morale of the team in 2015.

Just changing morales can do wonders, Too bad pakistami fans can't understand this and are clueless.

As I said, team bhar mei jai as long as precious misbah, Babar or rizwan get that stylish 50 or 100.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Why is it so sacred to keep babar in the team. What’s the worse that can happen if you drop him? Lose to Bangladesh?

His PR is spinning a narrative without Babar's contribution Pakistan could lose to anyone in the world. He is that important. They are basically creating hype based on his "lack of contribution". They are putting a positive spin on it.

 

[mominsaigol]

His PR is spinning a narrative without Babar's contribution Pakistan could lose to anyone in the world. He is that important. They are basically creating hype based on his "lack of contribution". They are putting a positive spin on it.

Pakistan is literally playing Test with 3 average batters (Rizwam, Saud and Agha) that too in the lower order.

Saim, Abdullah, Babar and Shan are walking wickets lol

 

[TheSultan]

The apollo creed was sarfraz in 2017, before 2016 pakistan under axhar got whitewashed by bangaldesh, got butchered to no 9 rank by every team.

Sarfi came in and changed the game. People literally have no clue and are ungrateful because they look at stats for rizzu and sarfi and can't distinguish beyond that.

Satfi was a leader that many juniors at the time respected and he forced this team to go beyond their capabilities.

I remember when hasan ali bowled and celebrated, and sarfi came and shouted at him telling him to shut up and go back to bowling. Now we have shaheen celebrating like a chimpanzee on getting hasan mahmud out in the first Test as his only wicket. What a joke.

The reason why Pakistan under sarfi could beat England in their home den despite being outmatched was due to morale. He instilled the belief of a champion team and was able to shake himself off and players off from crushing defeats.

To top it off he never massaged anyone's ego, fakhar was the X factor, Babar television accumulator, Sohail the aggressor, Malik, imad and hafeez the allrounders, azhar the opener.

This whole babar is king and the whole team having to suck to massage the ego's of bobby and rizzu and this dosti yaari culture was never present.

Pakistan literally lost a gem ever since you brought Misbah back.

All those who are claiming nonsense such as Sarfi did this against wi and this in test. Oh bhai, Abhi team ki shakal dekhi hai? Babar, Shan, Rizwan, Misbah, Ramiz and naqvi ran it into the ground and now it's actually unrepairable

Sarfi will now remain as the last captain ever to win a cup. Pakistan is finished in cricket. It's just falhar or bust now fakhar himself will get older and decline soon, cause he's close to 35 now.

Couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately they’ll never bring Saifi back as skipper. And I suspect even if they do and keep the rotten core, it’s very hard to turn around.

I would much rather take the Shaheen’s team and make Saifi captain.

 

[TheSultan]

His PR is spinning a narrative without Babar's contribution Pakistan could lose to anyone in the world. He is that important. They are basically creating hype based on his "lack of contribution". They are putting a positive spin on it.

Yup and anyone who falls for it is a buffoon.

 

[Buffet]

His PR is spinning a narrative without Babar's contribution Pakistan could lose to anyone in the world. He is that important. They are basically creating hype based on his "lack of contribution". They are putting a positive spin on it.

Babar played and Pakistan lost games agaisnt Zim, Ire, Afg, USA. Pakistan has failed to win a single home test in years and now losing home test against BD. What's left to lose. I don't think that argument makes any sense.

Not losing to Uganda or Nepal?

 

[mominsaigol]

Couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately they’ll never bring Saifi back as skipper. And I suspect even if they do and keep the rotten core, it’s very hard to turn around.

I would much rather take the Shaheen’s team and make Saifi captain.

Sarfi can't do anything anymore as the whole group is rotten to the core.

The thing is, Sarfi inherited the team at the perfect time.

Misbah was gone and before 2020 he was done and dusted, no more input from him.

Azhar Ali is a shariff guy, he realised he couldn't captain and willingly stepped down. He even wanted to leave right their and then but was convinced to stay till ct 2017.

He inherited a team free from Misbah's influence and free from any interference.

What's he going to do now? If he comes as captain, what can he do is javed afridi tells him shaheen must play? Or moin tells him azam khan must play? Or pcb tells him Shan must play?

And if he scolds the team like he use to and get their egos checked they won't listen anymore and will try to pull an oathgate on him like they dis with YK?

Imran Khan got lucky that he was given a team where everyone respected their captain. YK had to fix the egos and sarfi kept egos in check.

Lastly ramiz raja and naqvi damaged the team at grassroot level to satisfy babar because babar is too afraid to touch grass(no pun intended), before pakistan played and improved in the uae which was a proper pitch and obviously arabs ain't gonna allow clowns like ramiz or naqvi anywhere near their stadiums.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

No one is comparing the two. All I’m saying is that successful players are not dropped for poor form especially when they still have mileage left.

Babar is 29/30, not 35. He is entering his prime now and it is not the end of the world if he is out of form. Players better than Babar have had similar poor runs of form in their careers.

Its easier for you to give up.

Babar is a bang average player and all his results show it.

Not a single career defining innings for Pakistan.

Inzimam and Yousaf must be laughing at this pretender being compared better than them.

You will soon be left defending pieces of scrap as his 29/30 age is fudged to a level of 32/33 and he is at the end of his career.

 

[mominsaigol]

Its easier for you to give up.

Babar is a bang average player and all his results show it.

Not a single career defining innings for Pakistan.

Inzimam and Yousaf must be laughing at this pretender being compared better than them.

You will soon be left defending pieces of scrap as his 29/30 age is fudged to a level of 32/33 and he is at the end of his career.

I agree with you everything except the whole age fudge thing.

Idk if he's 32/33 or 29 as I don't have proof, but 32/33 isn't the end of a cricketer lol. It's a solid age where their likely the most experienced.

But yes Babar’s career is mostly over now. He won't come back

 

[followed]

Time to kick him out from every format.
Zimbabar's chapter should be closed forever.
He is so awful in every format.

 

[zaidihusain]

I remember during Australia test series some reports/fans were claiming that Babar has asked for rest during that series. I am surprised why he has not asked for rest during this series

 

[mominsaigol]

I remember during Australia test series some reports/fans were claiming that Babar has asked for rest during that series. I am surprised why he has not asked for rest during this series

Probs thought he'd score some fancy centuries and get away with it.

Didn't expect to face the likes of mehidy and rana

 

[Mamoon]

Its easier for you to give up.

Babar is a bang average player and all his results show it.

Not a single career defining innings for Pakistan.

Inzimam and Yousaf must be laughing at this pretender being compared better than them.

You will soon be left defending pieces of scrap as his 29/30 age is fudged to a level of 32/33 and he is at the end of his career.

Babar’s best years are ahead of him. As simple as that.

It is normal for people who can’t look beyond their nose to write players off when they are in poor form. Babar doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone.

 

[Mamoon]

“successful players are not dropped for poor form”

This is simply not true — of the top of my head, I can recall both Joe Root and David Gower being dropped from England for poor form.
Both are significantly better players than Babar will ever be.

The challenge is that, in the absence of any decent first class structure, how will he regain form ?

The argument that there are no better players in Pakistan is moot — either you are scoring runs or you are not.
You don’t live on reputation, other than perhaps in the subcontinent.

When was Joe Root dropped?

 

[Varun]

When was Joe Root dropped?

In the middle of the Ashes 2013/14.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Babar’s best years are ahead of him. As simple as that.

It is normal for people who can’t look beyond their nose to write players off when they are in poor form. Babar doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone.

Except Babar has been in poor form all his life barring a few inconsequential knocks.

 

[Mamoon]

In the middle of the Ashes 2013/14.

So dropping a 22 year old Root, who was only 12 months old into his Test career for a solitary Test is the same as a bunch of clowns demanding that Babar is dropped from the Test squad at the age of 29 with nearly 10 years of being Pakistan’s flagship batsman?

 

[Mamoon]

Except Babar has been in poor form all his life barring a few inconsequential knocks.

If “poor form for all his life” gives you nearly 14K runs across formats with 31 centuries @ 45+ average by the age of 28-29, then I wish more and more Pakistani batsmen were in poor form all their lives.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

When was Joe Root dropped?

Ashes 2013/2014
Replaced by Gary Ballance

 

[Namoona.]

A disgraceful fall of a great batter.

He is nowhere near his class when he burst into the scene or when the had the 2019-2022 purple patch. He is pretty mediocre these days. Failed all the big tests which would have propelled him forward.

It is time that team management look ahead and leave Babar. I'm glad they finally had their senses and removed him from Test captaincy. Hope they do the same with ODIs and T20Is as well.

Babar only has himself to blame. He should not have taken the captaincy 2nd time. He was effectively made the gOaT and he put the knife onto himself. He sacrificed himself for his ego but also hurt Shaheen.

He will be remembered along the likes of Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad of what could have they been if they only focused on their performance and remained outside of politics.

 

[Minnowbasher]

He's not been the same since the 2022 t20 asia cup. Flopped in the 3 world cups after and can't recall anything great he has achieved since then. Before that he bossed Australia at home in all 3 formats and was looking the real deal.

It's actually quite similar to Kohli's dip between 2019 and 2022 except Kohli was still competing with an in form Babar Azam at the time.

Babar needs to spend some time out, not because he necessarily deserves to be dropped but for his own mental space etc. Problem is we aren't a team like India who have many batsmen waiting to replace Kohli. Behind Babar we have nobodies. That makes him undroppable.

 

[Mamoon]

Ashes 2013/2014
Replaced by Gary Ballance

Addressed in post #127.

 

[Savak]

He's not been the same since the 2022 t20 asia cup. Flopped in the 3 world cups after and can't recall anything great he has achieved since then. Before that he bossed Australia at home in all 3 formats and was looking the real deal.

It's actually quite similar to Kohli's dip between 2019 and 2022 except Kohli was still competing with an in form Babar Azam at the time.

Babar needs to spend some time out, not because he necessarily deserves to be dropped but for his own mental space etc. Problem is we aren't a team like India who have many batsmen waiting to replace Kohli. Behind Babar we have nobodies. That makes him undroppable.

Tired of this he can't be dropped, we have no one. It's not true. Babar has been performing like a tailender for the past year, a replacement will lot do any worse.

 

[Mamoon]

Tired of this he can't be dropped, we have no one. It's not true. Babar has been performing like a tailender for the past year, a replacement will lot do any worse.

We don’t. You have to back him to regain his form over an average domestic player who won’t have the capability in the first place.

There isn’t a a single domestic batsman today who can do what Babar did from 2016 to 2021.

 

[Savak]

We don’t. You have to back him to regain his form over an average domestic player who won’t have the capability in the first place.

There isn’t a a single domestic batsman today who can do what Babar did from 2016 to 2021.

That was 2016 to 2021. That Babar is long gone.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

If “poor form for all his life” gives you nearly 14K runs across formats with 31 centuries @ 45+ average by the age of 28-29, then I wish more and more Pakistani batsmen were in poor form all their lives.

A disgraceful fall of a great batter.

He is nowhere near his class when he burst into the scene or when the had the 2019-2022 purple patch. He is pretty mediocre these days. Failed all the big tests which would have propelled him forward.

It is time that team management look ahead and leave Babar. I'm glad they finally had their senses and removed him from Test captaincy. Hope they do the same with ODIs and T20Is as well.

Babar only has himself to blame. He should not have taken the captaincy 2nd time. He was effectively made the gOaT and he put the knife onto himself. He sacrificed himself for his ego but also hurt Shaheen.

He will be remembered along the likes of Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad of what could have they been if they only focused on their performance and remained outside of politics.

What's this lol? I was proper confused at first.

 

[Mamoon]

That was 2016 to 2021. That Babar is long gone.

He isn’t. He is out of form. Apart from perhaps Don, literally every batsman in history has gone through such a patch.

Only in Pakistan is a highly skilled 29 year old batsman “finished” and “long gone”.

 

[Mamoon]

What's this lol? I was proper confused at first.

What can I say. Some people are so obsessed with me and insecure in their own skin that they only exist to mock me, but this is what average, low IQ people do.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

We don’t. You have to back him to regain his form over an average domestic player who won’t have the capability in the first place.

There isn’t a a single domestic batsman today who can do what Babar did from 2016 to 2021.

Not really — your premise seems to be that because Babar is potentially Pakistan’s current finest batsman (an accolade actually I would also bestow upon him) he should be immune from being dropped.


No player, how great, should feel (or be treated) as if their performances don’t matter and that it will eventually turn itself around. This breeds complacency — “I don’t need to worry, they’ll never drop me, after all I’m the great ABC”.
They then rest on their past laurels and the adulation of their fans.

You refer to Babar 2016-21. We are now in 2024.
Almost two years since a test 50, and in his last 15 innings he has an average of 20 with zero 50s (let alone any centuries).
Not sure he can even see the laurels to be able to rest on them….

This seems to be particularly prevalent in the subcontinent where certain senior players seem to behave (and be treated) like demigods above criticism.

 

[Advaith]

Babar is a good talent ..Better than all I have seen so far from pakistan and I am watching it for two decades ..He is not in form , take away extra burden of captaincy from him and he is the best bet to come good among all batters pakistan currently have ..

 

[ads101]

If “poor form for all his life” gives you nearly 14K runs across formats with 31 centuries @ 45+ average by the age of 28-29, then I wish more and more Pakistani batsmen were in poor form all their lives.

If we had had 6 Babar Azams for the last 7 years or so until he lost form, we would have been a strong batting line up. We keep expecting the performing senior batsman to somehow make up for the rest of the non-performing batsmen.

No other batsmen we have has come close in the last decade or so to him. Overrated or not, it doesn’t even matter. People celebrating they’ve finally been proven right about Babar, he literally spent 7 years proving them wrong. And now he’s had one year of bad form, all of sudden he was always bad, made no sense.

No other strong batting line up relies on one or two batsman like this, and blame them for the performances of the whole batting team like this. I am more happy we’ve hit the mark somewhat with Babar (and fakhar in ODIs). If only other batsmen had stepped up in that period.

 

[Hawkeye]

There isn’t a a single domestic batsman today who can do what Babar did from 2016 to 2021.

This is true TBH.

I’m not a Babar fan at all, but he is still Pakistan’s best batsman, albeit out of form.

He also plays in the wrong format - T20s, where he is often a liability with his stat padding.

For ODIs and Tests he’s the best Pakistan has. Only Pak will benefit when he regains the form.

 

[Savak]

Only in Pakistan will someone's fan club keep him in the side irrespective of performances undeservedly. We made the same mistake with Shahid Afridi.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Babar is a good talent ..Better than all I have seen so far from pakistan and I am watching it for two decades ..He is not in form , take away extra burden of captaincy from him and he is the best bet to come good among all batters pakistan currently have ..

I am in no way disagreeing with your assessment of his skills. In fact, he is clearly much better than a “good talent”
At his best he was a wonderful player.
But his best has been quite some time ago.

Dropping him will focus his mind — if he were Australian or English this would have already happened.
Nothing would make me happier than seeing him return to form but I am not sure that will be attained by him continually failing against relatively mediocre opposition (with all due respect to BD)

 

[Devadwal]

the day you were started supporting Babar Azam from there bad day of Babar Azam was started .
Same way you started anti india post, good day were started for us and eventually we won rhe ICC trophy .

 

[Rana]

Probs thought he'd score some fancy centuries and get away with it.

Didn't expect to face the likes of mehidy and rana

Apparently he chose BPL over ILT20 so that he can improve his batting against spin…

 

[cricketjoshila]

Give him time. He isn't going to be a great player, but he is still a good batsman.

 

[asifp]

More than the form it's the terrible attitude he has and the culture he has created in the team .

The boys care more about being called kings on social media than actually caring about cricket.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

If “poor form for all his life” gives you nearly 14K runs across formats with 31 centuries @ 45+ average by the age of 28-29, then I wish more and more Pakistani batsmen were in poor form all their lives.

Cherry picked stats don't fool me.

You can celebrate his Zimbabawe, Nepal and Uganda hundreds for all I care.

He remains average to me.

 

[Rana]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1830651078855258192

Make flat pitches, our bowlers took wickets on them apparently

 

[offstump]

Babar Azam’s run-scoring the past few years highlights his talent, but the overwhelming hype surrounding him from his fanboys has clearly affected his focus and growth. Over the past couple of years, his technical flaws have become increasingly apparent. He’s playing away from his body which happens when you lose focus and confidence. His struggles against spin are well documented.

All these weaknesses, combined with his declining fitness, show he’s not putting in the work required to reach the elite level. If he truly wants to be compared with greats like Kohli, he needs to address these flaws head-on. Babar’s performances have clearly been below par the last couple of years, and it’s time for a reality check. Dropping him is the wake-up call he needs. A stint in domestic or even better, county cricket would force him to work on his game, hopefully regain his form, and prove that he can be more than just a hyped player. The talent is there, but the hard work is missing and it must follow if he wants to be remembered among Pakistan’s best. Otherwise we’re goona see his name in a thread on who was the most wasted talent in Pakistan cricket.

 

[kingusama92]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1830651078855258192

Make flat pitches, our bowlers took wickets on them apparently

Embarrassing.

The guy is so desperate to see Babar score runs he's saying stuff like this.

 

[riddu]

make him captain again.. so he will perform

 

[uppercut]

Now the Question is, What now for Babar Azam?

Here are the options

Option 1: Drop Babar as a captain for poor captaincy and Drop him as a batsmen for poor form.

Option 2: Drop Babar as a captain but have him play as a specialist batsmen and focus on improving Babar back to his 2019-2021 form. By giving him confidence and improving his fitness

Option 3: Keep Babar as a captain and Keep him as a player and hope he gets better as time progresses.

My own perspective is Option 2, as I really liked Babar before 2022. It's 2022 to 2024 where he has started to disappoint his fans

Here is the best option: Aapne ghabrana nahi hai... kuch nahi honewala with or without runs

 

[viveks]

Not really — your premise seems to be that because Babar is potentially Pakistan’s current finest batsman (an accolade actually I would also bestow upon him) he should be immune from being dropped.


No player, how great, should feel (or be treated) as if their performances don’t matter and that it will eventually turn itself around. This breeds complacency — “I don’t need to worry, they’ll never drop me, after all I’m the great ABC”.
They then rest on their past laurels and the adulation of their fans.

You refer to Babar 2016-21. We are now in 2024.
Almost two years since a test 50, and in his last 15 innings he has an average of 20 with zero 50s (let alone any centuries).
Not sure he can even see the laurels to be able to rest on them….

This seems to be particularly prevalent in the subcontinent where certain senior players seem to behave (and be treated) like demigods above criticism.

Dropping good players isn't about creating competitiveness, dropping is a result of competitiveness. If your squad is good enough to drop a good player performing badly you can do so, but you have to have a very strong batting line up to justify dropping Babar Azam. And quite frankly, Pakistan has probably the weakest batting line up in test cricket if not for Azam, the captain literally averages 28, so averaging 20 is not so bad when you look at it like that.


And your wording of 2 years obscures that it is just 8 matches, any good batsman can surely rest on their laurels for 8 test matches

31 Jul 2018 - 31 Jul 2019, Joe root 12 Tests averaging 31
17 Aug 2022-31 Dec 2022, Joe root 6 tests averaging 19
14 Aug 2019-14 Aug 2020, Williamson 8 tests averaging 28

 

[cricketcricket79]

Babar will come good. Just have patience. He is too good of a batsman to fail and he is still young to retire.

 

[offstump]

Embarrassing.

The guy is so desperate to see Babar score runs he's saying stuff like this.

Lol this is what Ramiz did so he could help inflate Babar’s average and “brand” which ended up setting us back a decade

 

[Thanos]

Fans seem delusional in either way.
Some thinking Babar was next Bradman when he was state padding few years ago and others thinking that he can be dropped.

At best, he was and still is an average batsman who was performing decently per Pak's batting standards. An average batsman surrounded by below average batsmen and hyped as King for marketing.

Since Pak hasn't produced any better batsman than him recently, he can continue and will score decent runs eventually. But there is no harm in playing domestic or county for gaining the form again.

 

[mominsaigol]

Whatever issues people have, Just know that I back Saud shakeel.

First of I'm not delusional and never claimed he'd be the next bradman or Tendulkar like some people held Babar in regards to being the greatest Pakistani batter ever lol.

But genuinely I back him.

Back your top domestic performers in ghulam, Saud, Hurraira etc. Failures are a part of life.

What is not right however is that you give players free rides and promotions and dosti yaari crew.

It's one thing to not be performing but if coaches are complaining that Babar is not complying with their batting coaches, and his fitness is decreasing then he needs to be booted.

I'd be happy to keep Babar if his attitude was correct but it isn't. He's displaying Umar Akmal levels of ego atm

 

[BouncerGuy]

Babar is going through the worst patch of his life. He needs some rest so that he can clear his mind.