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What position should Babar Azam bat at in Test cricket?

What position should Babar Azam bat in Test cricket?

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S

Saj

PakPassion Administrator
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We've seen him bat beautifully today at number 6 against a top-class South Africa bowling attack on a very difficult surface.

But what do you think is the position that Babar should bat at in Test cricket?
 
4

Open with Azhar and Fahkar

Haris at 3


Asad id get rid of, but even if we keep him, he is too weak mentally to play in the top order
 
Number 4


Rebuilding should start now after 3 retirements.


Azhar should Open with Shan or Fakhar.


Impressed with the game development of Shan Masood. He was unlucky today. Since adopting the +ve intent he has rocked in List A aswell as for Pakistan A in both FC and List A scoring high impact runs.


Number 3 :

If Haris gets fit in next match he should come in at 3. If not I would throw in Saud the rookie at 3.

Babar at 4.


If Saud hasn't got the visa than for the timebeing Babar has to come at number 3.


In the long run number 4.
 
Number 4 then atleast he gets more time in middle rather than the tail coming in after him at number 7.
 
Azhar
Fakhar
Haris
Babar (C)
Saad
Asad *
Rizwan (Wk)

* Send Asad back to 6, and let Saad settle in. If Asad still struggles and once Saad settles in, bring another new bat in Saud.
 
Number 4 is the ideal position for him like almost every other top batsman of the world.
 
Azhar
Fakhar/Masood
Harris
Babar
Shafiq


I am tentative to drop Imam, I may reconsider after giving him a few games at number 5/6 to see if he can do better of the ball is slightly older, play himself in a bit before the second new ball
 
If he's Pakistan's best bat, then he should be at #4. 'protecting' him at #6 doesn't make much sense.
 
I have voted for 4 which should be his position eventually but at the moment he should be promoted up to 5. A sudden jump from 6 to 4 may unsettle him, for the rest of this tour let him bat at 5. He should move to 4 from the next series.
 
Current position until he feels comfortable moving up the order. Babar is doing great at no.6 right now, no need to experiment hastily and mess up everything.
 
Banter said:
If he's Pakistan's best bat, then he should be at #4. 'protecting' him at #6 doesn't make much sense.
Click to expand...
He is not protected at all. Babar bats at 6 because we still haven't figured out the best batting position for Asad Shafiq after eight years :facepalm:
 
There are two philosophies in this regard. In UK, it’s (was) really difficult to survive the new ball in morning start therefore most of England’s greatest middle orders batted at 4, and many of their No. 3s were actually opener for Counties. Ranking, Hammond, Compton, Cowdrey, Gower, KP, now Root. AUS is a bit different - their hard, fast wickets are good for shot making and most of their greats at their prime batted at 3. Hill, Bradman, Harvey, Ian, Greg, Ponting and now Smith.

Cricket in South Asia & South Africa are more English follower than Aussie, hence most of our top middle orders are honoured at No. 4; while strong back foot based WIN batting often put their most dynamic batsman at 3 like Aussies - Walcott, Sobers, Kanhai, Kali, Viv, Rowe, Lara (at start).....

I think, Babar should follow the rich tradition of south Asian batting - # 4 in Test. In LO it’s a different ball game and he should play as opener - that’s exactly what SRT did and some of the best middle order also did - Mark, Lara, Mahela.
 
5-

1 - Fakhar
2 - Any useless opener
3 - Azhar Ali
4 - Haris
5 - Babar
6 - Shafiq
7 - Wicket keeper + tailender
 
Azhar at 3
Harris at 4
Babar at 5

I said this after his knock in England. Shafiq at 6
Let's keep our feet on the ground
 
Ideally 3, but 4 is fine at the moment because of Haris. Pakistan should not follow the cowardly approach of other teams and take the game head on. He's a player who likes to control the tempo of the game so the earlier he's in the better. Bowling quality, conditions don't matter, he can handle anything, mashaAllah.
 
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I will answer your question with a question. Which team would you have for the 2nd test? -

1. Zaman
2. Masood / Imam
3. Azhar
4. Haris
5. Babar
6. Shafiq
7. Sarfraz
8. Yasir
9. Hasan / Shaheen
10. Amir
11. Abbas

OR

1. Zaman
2. Masood / Imam
3. Azhar
4. Babar
5. Shafiq / Haris
6. Sarfraz
7. Shadab
8. Faheem
9. Yasir
10. Amir
11. Abbas
 
4 or 5. I gave my vote to 5. I think Asad Shafiq should be moved back down to 6.
 
This innings would be a good day to bring him on earlier than Asad Shafiq.
 
MMHS said:
There are two philosophies in this regard. In UK, it’s (was) really difficult to survive the new ball in morning start therefore most of England’s greatest middle orders batted at 4, and many of their No. 3s were actually opener for Counties. Ranking, Hammond, Compton, Cowdrey, Gower, KP, now Root. AUS is a bit different - their hard, fast wickets are good for shot making and most of their greats at their prime batted at 3. Hill, Bradman, Harvey, Ian, Greg, Ponting and now Smith.

Cricket in South Asia & South Africa are more English follower than Aussie, hence most of our top middle orders are honoured at No. 4; while strong back foot based WIN batting often put their most dynamic batsman at 3 like Aussies - Walcott, Sobers, Kanhai, Kali, Viv, Rowe, Lara (at start).....

I think, Babar should follow the rich tradition of south Asian batting - # 4 in Test. In LO it’s a different ball game and he should play as opener - that’s exactly what SRT did and some of the best middle order also did - Mark, Lara, Mahela.
Click to expand...

Smith bats at 4 in tests.
 
[MENTION=145950]Kohli, The King of Chase[/MENTION]

100% agreed with this! Except I would maybe consider Usman Salahuddin over Saud. I think Saud’s format is ODIs.
 
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The best batsman in a test team usually bats at four.. he is our best batsman..
 
Has to be moved to 4 in the next match. Babar could have had a hundred this series if he was coming above Shafiq.
 
Fahdi said:
Has to be moved to 4 in the next match. Babar could have had a hundred this series if he was coming above Shafiq.
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It's not just about Babar scoring 100, it's about leading the team to big scores. What's the best way for Pakistan to score as much as possible? It's definitely not with Babar down at 5/6/7.
 
Buffet said:
He shouldn't bat at 4.
Click to expand...

??

I would have liked a slow transition by giving him a series at 5 and then going to 4 eventually but this series I don't see what else can be done.

What's your take if you feel he shouldn't move to 4?
 
Nabeel23 said:
Put him at 3, Azhar should either open or not play at all, Haris comes in at 4.
Click to expand...


Nabeel I agree with you wrt Azhar.


Azhar averages 47.5 as an opener. He should open with Shan Masood.

This allows us to,


A. Get the best out of Azhar Ali

B. Play an extra batsman or allrounder



But Since Imam scored a good fifty in first Test hence he will not be dropped for the 3rd Test.


Babar Azam is a shotmaker and a quality batsman so at present we need him at number 6 for sometime.


Haris isn't going to play for sometime knowing his knee trouble.
 
Fahdi said:
??

I would have liked a slow transition by giving him a series at 5 and then going to 4 eventually but this series I don't see what else can be done.

What's your take if you feel he shouldn't move to 4?
Click to expand...

ikky47 said:
Where do you think he should bat then? I think 4 is the best position for him.
Click to expand...

Opps, I meant to write he shouldn't bat at 6. He should bat at 4.
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
Nabeel I agree with you wrt Azhar.


Azhar averages 47.5 as an opener. He should open with Shan Masood.

This allows us to,


A. Get the best out of Azhar Ali

B. Play an extra batsman or allrounder



But Since Imam scored a good fifty in first Test hence he will not be dropped for the 3rd Test.


Babar Azam is a shotmaker and a quality batsman so at present we need him at number 6 for sometime.


Haris isn't going to play for sometime knowing his knee trouble.
Click to expand...

The problem is that the next series is in October so all can easily be forgotten. Personally I think Azhar does not have much left in the tank but I still want to give him one last go opening because he did do very well and with Azhar at 3 the score usually stagnates and goes nowhere, opening is perfectly suited for his style of play. If he fails then Abid Ali deserves a chance to open because he has done very well and has a lot of experience in domestic cricket.

For numbers 3 and 4 you want your two most dynamic batsmen and I feel that should be Babar and Haris and I chose Babar so it reduces the chance of having the top 3 all being left handers. You want your best batsman high up rather them coming at 3 or 4 down for zilch. If Haris is injured then its best to try out another young dynamic left handed batsman in Saud Shakeel who I think has a lot of talent to succeed at the test level.
 
Batting going forward should be

Azhar/new opener
Shan
Sohail
Babar
New batsmen
New batsmen
Rizwan
 
#4

He is the team's best batsman and modern day best batsman of any test team bats at #4. Look at Kohli, Root, Smith.
 
Stay where he is atm and move up one spot may be next year . He should not bat in Top3 imo
 
Amjid Javed said:
Batting going forward should be

Azhar/new opener
Shan
Sohail
Babar
New batsmen
New batsmen
Rizwan
Click to expand...

Based on the domestic scene:

1. Azhar/Abid Ali
2. Shaan Masood
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail depending on fitness otherwise Saud
5. Usman Salahuddin/Fawad Alam
6. Saad Ali/Saud Shakeel
7. Mohammad Rizwan
 
Azhar/Dunno
Shan
Harris
Babar
Dunno
Dunno
Dunno
Yasir
Dunno
Abbas
Shaheen

Thanks for all your love!
 
Definately should be 4th, Haris can play off the new ball at 3 which sets up a perfect Right hand/Left hand combo for the dream team Babar Sohail.
 
Babar struggles to play with the tail. He exposed them too much. It would be better to have somebody who can play with tail at 6 and let Babar bat at 4 so he has a bigger chance of scoring big.
 
Although I think Azhar will be a walking wicket opening outside of Asia I suppose he can’t be worse then now.. so sure give him the openers slot.

Babar needs to bat at 4.
 
With Azhar and Shafiq's decline, time for Babar to move to number 3
 
I will go with 4. That's his position and time to get him there ASAP..
 
Should be Shan, new opener, Haris then Babar, then 2 new middle order batsmen.. Get rid of Shafiq and Azhar the seniors.
 
MenInG said:
With Azhar and Shafiq's decline, time for Babar to move to number 3
Click to expand...

Nope. Too high. Should bat at 4. I do believe in your best batsman being protected somewhat especially if he likes to go after the bowling. There's a reason why Tendulker batted at 4 and not 3. These are the sort of guys you want to come in after over 20 when the threat of the new ball has faded and the threat of reverse swing is 40 overs away. 40 overs prime for batting for your best batsman to deal as much damage as possible and get his eye in before either reverse swing kicks in or the new ball comes.
 
I'd ask him to bat at 4 as I don't want to needlessly expose him to the new ball if he bats at 3. Though chances are that he'll be walking in at 20-2 more often than not. We need someone who can blunt the new ball at 3, i.e. a younger, less timid version of Azhar Ali.
 
Number 4 so atleast he can dictate the game and not end up stuck with the tail.
 
Your best batsman should bat at no.4. And Babar is easily the best Pakistani batsman on current form.
 
Fahdi said:
Nope. Too high. Should bat at 4. I do believe in your best batsman being protected somewhat especially if he likes to go after the bowling. There's a reason why Tendulker batted at 4 and not 3. These are the sort of guys you want to come in after over 20 when the threat of the new ball has faded and the threat of reverse swing is 40 overs away. 40 overs prime for batting for your best batsman to deal as much damage as possible and get his eye in before either reverse swing kicks in or the new ball comes.
Click to expand...

That is an interesting point. I would usually want to have the best batsmen batting at 3 but I see what you mean and that makes a lot of sense. Not sure how we are going to find a number 3
 
4 in tests.
The opener in ODI and T20's.

Give him the same batting positions that Sachin had for a year and see what he does with it. Imam's a wasted selection, Babar should open in ODI's so that he gets the maximum chance to bat as long as he can.
 
GoUgandaCranes said:
4 in tests.
The opener in ODI and T20's.

Give him the same batting positions that Sachin had for a year and see what he does with it. Imam's a wasted selection, Babar should open in ODI's so that he gets the maximum chance to bat as long as he can.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about him as an opener in ODI's. In T20I's, he can be fine as an opener as proven but in ODI's, number 3 is perfect for him.
 
hadi123 said:
I'm not sure about him as an opener in ODI's. In T20I's, he can be fine as an opener as proven but in ODI's, number 3 is perfect for him.
Click to expand...

Neither was I before the emergence of Imam but the thing is Imam and Babar are slightly similar accumulators with Babar being better than Imam so far. If it's an okay pitch, Babar gets to face too few a deliveries.

We need him to bat up the oder and score hundreds and hit boundaries and improve himself. Ain't no point in keeping the best batsman in the shed. If he doesn't work, he can be dropped back to number three but as of now I feel he's being wasted.
 
Best batsman should be at 3 to give him an opportunity to score big...

3 has more freedom than 4 where at 4 you have to start curbing your natural instincts to score if not many on the board
 
Number 3. He's batted in the Top 3 for most of his career and he prefers pace over spin. Also, most Pakistani batsman are left-handed so he adds a balance.

Put the best bat at 3.
 
GoUgandaCranes said:
Neither was I before the emergence of Imam but the thing is Imam and Babar are slightly similar accumulators with Babar being better than Imam so far. If it's an okay pitch, Babar gets to face too few a deliveries.

We need him to bat up the oder and score hundreds and hit boundaries and improve himself. Ain't no point in keeping the best batsman in the shed. If he doesn't work, he can be dropped back to number three but as of now I feel he's being wasted.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I think 3 suits him but I guess you're right about the Imam as an accumulator. Ideally we'd have 2 aggressive openers with Azam coming at 3. I don't rate Imam as a long term option in ODI's, although I can understand why he is being picked as he has had a good ODI career so far, but I think after 1 or 2 bad series he'll be dropped from ODI's and play Tests mainly, he seems more of a red ball player. I think Masood has earnt a few chances as an opener in ODI's too based on his Test form, let's see how that goes. I just wish Sharjeel didn't get banned, a top 3 of Zaman, Sharjeel Khan and Babar Azam would be incredible. But anyway, let's leave the discussion here for now as this thread is about Tests and I don't want to derail it
 
hadi123 said:
Hmmm, I think 3 suits him but I guess you're right about the Imam as an accumulator. Ideally we'd have 2 aggressive openers with Azam coming at 3. I don't rate Imam as a long term option in ODI's, although I can understand why he is being picked as he has had a good ODI career so far, but I think after 1 or 2 bad series he'll be dropped from ODI's and play Tests mainly, he seems more of a red ball player. I think Masood has earnt a few chances as an opener in ODI's too based on his Test form, let's see how that goes. I just wish Sharjeel didn't get banned, a top 3 of Zaman, Sharjeel Khan and Babar Azam would be incredible. But anyway, let's leave the discussion here for now as this thread is about Tests and I don't want to derail it
Click to expand...

Imam is an accumulator. You can't be Rohit Sharma without the fourth fifth gear. He gets to a hundred in the 43rd over and then gets out. Our bowling isn't that good anymore that we can defend sub 300 totals. And what it also does is that Babar doesn't get to play as much as he can and should.

Fakhar and Babar should be the template and if Fakhar fails we should move onto someone else or maybe Sharjeel will get a pardon and still be some kinda ok striker. We can't carry these many accumulators, I'd rather have a team that will score 400 on a day and get knocked out for 100 the next rather than a team that makes it to 220 day in day out.
 
Looking all set for a hundred in practice game - good strike rate too.
 
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.
 
Best test batsman in any team in modern day cricket bats at the coveted #4 position.which is where Haris Sohail must bat.

Babar 'The Bobby's Azam must bat at #5.
 
Enjoy watching him bat. Should be in at 4, stop the collapse and take the game deep.

One thing he must not do is get impatient and play too many shots. Just my 2 cents
 
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