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What position should Babar Azam bat at in Test cricket?

What position should Babar Azam bat in Test cricket?

  • Total voters
    63
Babar is best batsman by far and has the one with most well rounded technique. He has been averaging high 50s (if not in 60s) in last 2 years. He has been batting too low, most of the time he has been batting with tail. He should be batting at no 4. No 4 is where your best batsman bats, there is no question who is best batsman of Pakistan...
 
Statistically he has done is best at 5th and 6th. At No. 3 he averages 25.92 across 15 innings. I'd say fifth but no farther up than fourth.
 
Number 3. He is miles ahead of any other batsman in the country, he has respect from opposition already, he has all shots in his armory and he is captaining limited overs cricket now for Pakistan.

He should show responsibility, leadership, bravery and mastery to cricket world in this tour and should bat at 3.

Asad should bat at 4. Haris at 5. Rizwan at 6. Iftikhar at 7.
 
Pakistan need a #3. A natural stroke-maker who is technically well-equipped enough to play the new ball.

Babar Azam is the best option.
 
best batsman in the team usually bat at 4. Tendulkar, Kohli, Kallis,Inzy.. so i think 4.
 
I would keep him at 5 for now.
We need him to minimise his chances of getting a good ball . If he starts batting at the 30 over mark, he should be scoring big.
Let's score big a few times and then we can talk of promotions
 
Given Haris Sohail's problems, a number 3 position for Babar or leave him where he is?
 
Most votes for number 4 at the moment.
 
He came in to bat in the 7th over today. That's on average when a no.3 comes in to bat. If he can get a big score tomorrow, he should be promoted to no.4 against Sri Lanka
 
Number 4.

For 2 reasons:

1. As Ricky Ponting said*, he needs to bat away from the new ball. This is to ensure Pakistan's best batsman can maximise his chance of making a substantial contribution to the scoreboard.

*https://www.cricket.com.au/news/ric...kistan-test-series-batter-to-watch/2019-11-19

2. If he bats any lower, there is a high chance he may end up having to bat with the tail because the batsmen around him are far lesser players and the lower half of the order (7-11) is just too frail.
 
He's just scared to face the new ball coz he is a mental midget. Averaged 23 in his first 10-11 tests because of the no.3 position. Clearly can't handle the pressure
 
Now albeit a good knock, it has come in a situation where it doesn't help much in the context of the game besides make his average look good. Selfish knock once again.
 
waleed88 said:
Now albeit a good knock, it has come in a situation where it doesn't help much in the context of the game besides make his average look good. Selfish knock once again.
Click to expand...

No way for him to win here - if he got out for a duck you'd say he's rubbish, since he's scoring he's selfish.
 
Abdullah719 said:
No way for him to win here - if he got out for a duck you'd say he's rubbish, since he's scoring he's selfish.
Click to expand...

Does this knock help in the context of the game? Yes or no? Besides a few flashy drives its dragging and inconsequential result to be very honest.
 
Abdullah719 said:
No way for him to win here - if he got out for a duck you'd say he's rubbish, since he's scoring he's selfish.
Click to expand...

I would rather our team win than a small arguement on Babar. I know Babar is not to blame for our defeat. It is frustrating that he and his teammates don't come off as a unit. Small inconsequential fifties don't are not going to help us when the opposition already outbatted you and outbowled you in the first innings
 
Last edited:
waleed88 said:
Does this knock help in the context of the game? Yes or no? Besides a few flashy drives its dragging and inconsequential result to be very honest.
Click to expand...

It's helpful in his development as a player. He is still developing at the Test level and has a lot of work to do.

From the history of your posts, I can tell that you don't realise the importance of this factor.
 
waleed88 said:
Does this knock help in the context of the game? Yes or no? Besides a few flashy drives its dragging and inconsequential result to be very honest.
Click to expand...
You know Kohli first test hundred in Aus came in a similar no pressure situation this knock is important for Babar to get confidence he can get runs in Australia sometimes there are factors to look at apart from match situation
 
Abdullah719 said:
It's helpful in his development as a player. He is still developing at the Test level and has a lot of work to do.

From the history of your posts, I can tell that you don't realise the importance of this factor.
Click to expand...

It's funny 3 years into his career we are only worried about the growth of a player rather than a team that has 10 other players. This fixation on a player's growth and his average over the team's result is what worries me about our fans. Hero worship needs to take a back seat when your team is having such a horrible time specially in one format, that you have to find remorse with a player's average and his presence in the side. We also need to rid us of our savior mentality.
 
Xoib said:
You know Kohli first test hundred in Aus came in a similar no pressure situation this knock is important for Babar to get confidence he can get runs in Australia sometimes there are factors to look at apart from match situation
Click to expand...

Oh dear, it's as if our fans can't help themselves....
 
waleed88 said:
He's just scared to face the new ball coz he is a mental midget. Averaged 23 in his first 10-11 tests because of the no.3 position. Clearly can't handle the pressure
Click to expand...

When Kohli was first introduced to the Test team, he batted at 5/6 for the first couple of years. This was not because he was 'scared' of the new ball (young batsmen don't dictate their own positions in the lineup) but because that was the best way to ease him into the lineup. It was only when he had played 21-22 Test matches that he was promoted to #4, where he has generally batted. Root and Smith also regularly bat at #4 and used to bat lower down the order initially.

Babar is playing at #5 right now and he's 21 Tests into his career. He should be batting at #4 soon. Maybe #3 depending on the resources available, he is certainly capable of doing so. Putting him at #3 in his first year of international cricket on a tough overseas tour was a mistake.
 
waleed88 said:
Does this knock help in the context of the game? Yes or no? Besides a few flashy drives its dragging and inconsequential result to be very honest.
Click to expand...

Of course it does! It improves his own confidence, inspires his other teammates, as well as puts him in a better mind space for upcoming matches.
If he got out soon in the second innings, you would have criticized him still - nothing he'll do will make you happy.
 
waleed88 said:
It's funny 3 years into his career we are only worried about the growth of a player rather than a team that has 10 other players. This fixation on a player's growth and his average over the team's result is what worries me about our fans. Hero worship needs to take a back seat when your team is having such a horrible time specially in one format, that you have to find remorse with a player's average and his presence in the side. We also need to rid us of our savior mentality.
Click to expand...

I have no answer to this. :)
 
Abdullah719 said:
When Kohli was first introduced to the Test team, he batted at 5/6 for the first couple of years. This was not because he was 'scared' of the new ball (young batsmen don't dictate their own positions in the lineup) but because that was the best way to ease him into the lineup. It was only when he had played 21-22 Test matches that he was promoted to #4, where he has generally batted. Root and Smith also regularly bat at #4 and used to bat lower down the order initially.

Babar is playing at #5 right now and he's 21 Tests into his career. He should be batting at #4 soon. Maybe #3 depending on the resources available, he is certainly capable of doing so. Putting him at #3 in his first year of international cricket on a tough overseas tour was a mistake.
Click to expand...

Kohli batted at no.5-6 because he had a team of Sachin, Sehwag, Laxman Dravid if I'm not wrong (I could be wrong I don't remember honestly how long ago that was). As opposed to Babar azam, who was deemed the brightest prospect of the game from day 1. He was displaced in place of Shafiq and played at no.3 from day 1. The difference is Babar was playing at no.3 in other formats too as opposed to Kohli. Also Kohli wasn't allowed to freeload in the side for a tough batting patch, unlike this guy who has been the be all end all of out batting since the day he arrived.
Players have been discarded for good in order to make this guy play every game without accountability.
And the results are there for everyone to see, the king of soft runs comes back when his team least needs him, and disappears when the team needs him to perform
 
there is no reason he shouldn't be batting at 3 - he is Pakistan's best batsmen by some distance, and he bats at 3 in the other formats and in domestic, its not like he's not familiar with the new ball
 
Mickey Arthur "don't think Babar will bat at #3, I think he'll bat at 4 for Pakistan and that'll be his best position going forward. It's not too much of an issue right now whether he is at 4 or Shafiq, but in the long run Babar Azam will be the #4"
 
He already should be the number 4. Pakistan are really not helping him by switching his position that much. If Ifti is dropped for the next match, I am afraid we might see him bat at 6.
 
Mickey Arthur on Babar batting position

"We might see this innings as a turning point for Babar. I'll go back to his first Test tour, he batted #3 in NZ on wickets with a lot of grass. The ball was seaming everywhere and he got 90* at Hamilton. I so often go back to that innings and think that if he got a 100 there at Hamilton, would his development have been quicker? That would've been the monkey off his back in his 2nd or 3rd Test. All the talk about him not getting 100s, he needs to step up etc. would have been obliterated. He also came at batted at #3 in Australia because you had Younis and Misbah at 4/5 and Shafiq at 6. The only place in the batting order for him was #3 but I backed him to be good enough to be able to do that"

"I don't think Babar will bat at #3, I think he'll bat at 4 for Pakistan and that'll be his best position going forward. It's not too much of an issue right now whether he is at 4 or Shafiq, but in the long run Babar Azam will be the #4"
 
Mickey Arthur on Babar Azam at end of the series vs Australia

"Babar Azam will bat at #4 for Pakistan for the rest of his career, he'll have that for another 10 years. He has been averaging 50 over the last year or so. His first 6 matches were tough, then he got some noughts against WI. Bit like Jacques Kallis, his average was deflated. He was persisted with because he was that good and ended with an average above 50. Babar will do the same thing, he just started from a low base because he didn't start off too well in tough conditions. He'll go from strength to strength"
 
As per this graph, Imo he should bat at number 4 in Test cricket. I have no idea why the management is trying to damage his Test career by forcing him to bat at number 3.

x4nMSnW.jpg
 
FearlessRoar said:
As per this graph, Imo he should bat at number 4 in Test cricket. I have no idea why the management is trying to damage his Test career by forcing him to bat at number 3.

x4nMSnW.jpg
Click to expand...
Tbf the stats for number 3 are from 2016-2018 when he hadn't figured out test cricket at all. Then during his peak he batted at 4
 
#4. Pakistan top 7 should be:

Saim
Imam
Abdullah
Babar
Saud
Rizwan (c) (wk)
Agha
 
FearlessRoar said:
As per this graph, Imo he should bat at number 4 in Test cricket. I have no idea why the management is trying to damage his Test career by forcing him to bat at number 3.

x4nMSnW.jpg
Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with his batting position; he’s just a lazy, overhyped individual. He started off well when he first joined the team, but once other teams figured him out, he didn’t bother improving his game. Instead, his ego got the better of him. Even now, he’s in the team based on his past performances from 2016 to 2022, not his current form.
 
Mamoon said:
#4. Pakistan top 7 should be:

Saim
Imam
Abdullah
Babar
Saud
Rizwan (c) (wk)
Agha
Click to expand...
You want Abdullah in the test team? Brother he's gonna fail badly. He had one good innings vs sri lanka, Afterwards he's worse then Shan.

And that's surprising since shan is by far the worst test opener/ no 3 I've ever seen(who's played for 10+ years)

Abdullah is avg 38 atm due to that flat track pindi aus series + sri lanka series. He use to avg 65 before it dropped to 38.

It'll eventually drop to 25. He isn't a good test player. And no Kamran Ghulam?

Kamran is a much much better batsmen then Abdullah Shafique. Abdullah shafique has sworn an oath to break the ducks record.
 
mominsaigol said:
You want Abdullah in the test team? Brother he's gonna fail badly. He had one good innings vs sri lanka, Afterwards he's worse then Shan.

And that's surprising since shan is by far the worst test opener/ no 3 I've ever seen(who's played for 10+ years)

Abdullah is avg 38 atm due to that flat track pindi aus series + sri lanka series. He use to avg 65 before it dropped to 38.

It'll eventually drop to 25. He isn't a good test player. And no Kamran Ghulam?

Kamran is a much much better batsmen then Abdullah Shafique. Abdullah shafique has sworn an oath to break the ducks record.
Click to expand...
I prefer Abdullah at 3 over KG at 3. The other option is to move Saud to 3 and play KG at 5. Either way, Babar should be at 4 and Imam should replace Masood.
 
Mamoon said:
I prefer Abdullah at 3 over KG at 3. The other option is to move Saud to 3 and play KG at 5. Either way, Babar should be at 4 and Imam should replace Masood.
Click to expand...
I think your other option is better.

I'd rather play KG and Saud in a playing 11 then abd.
 
I think batting 5 would be his optimal position right now. We need in form batsmen in our top 4. I'd bat Kamran at 3, saud at 4. There's just too much pressure when it's not working at 3, and he might benefit down the order for a bit.

The problem is in form Babar is the most natural no.3 we have.
 
ads101 said:
I think batting 5 would be his optimal position right now. We need in form batsmen in our top 4. I'd bat Kamran at 3, saud at 4. There's just too much pressure when it's not working at 3, and he might benefit down the order for a bit.

The problem is in form Babar is the most natural no.3 we have.
Click to expand...
We cannot bend over backwards to accomodate Babar. It's unfair on the others to mess them around. Babar's our most experienced batter so if he cannot buy a run in the position he's given then send him home.

The selectors already set a poor example by recalling him to the Test squad on the back of zero FC cricket.

I hope he scores tomorrow but not holding much hope.
 
no. 5. Lacks the temperament to be a test no. 3 or 4 (who have to be averaging close to 50 in all great teams).
 
Markhor said:
We cannot bend over backwards to accomodate Babar. It's unfair on the others to mess them around. Babar's our most experienced batter so if he cannot buy a run in the position he's given then send him home.

The selectors already set a poor example by recalling him to the Test squad on the back of zero FC cricket.

I hope he scores tomorrow but not holding much hope.
Click to expand...
I agree, even though I believe Kamran has batted at 3 in domestic, he’s performing at 4. At the same time, it’s very tough if your top 3 aren’t really clicking, you’re 3 down before you’re rebuilding each time. Kamran ironically would have got the chance at 3 if Masood hadn’t be playing at the no.3 spot before in order to fit into the team. Babar was struggling for form, and the move has been to drop him and then recall him immediately and put him at an even harder position at 3 than before (he usually played at 4 in tests).

Babar probably just has to continue at 3 and hope things click. I think he’ll be dropped again sadly as I think he will fail. Which will then put us into another issue to find a new no.3 . Kamran and Saud should have been in the team earlier, and there were always cries to get them into the team. Especially Kamran, I thought it was mad we delayed his debut for so long. But outside these two, there isn’t exactly a list of cricketers screaming to debut especially at the no.3 position.
 
Batters most technically superior against the moving ball should open. That man is Bobbzy.
Imam is decent against moving ball too:

Saim Ayub doesn’t look like a ready product for test cricket. He may get dropped. They should protect him until he finds his feet. He can be given Travis Head type of role at no6.

Babar
Imam
KG
Saud Shakeel
Agha S
Saim
Rizwan
 
If Kamran is there I think Babar should bat at his regular position at number 4. KG at number 3
 
In the absence of Saim Ayub, it will be interesting to see who opens for Pakistan in the second innings of the second Test. Babar Azam's highest first-class score of 266 came while opening, and he has experience in other formats as well.
 
FearlessRoar said:
In the absence of Saim Ayub, it will be interesting to see who opens for Pakistan in the second innings of the second Test. Babar Azam's highest first-class score of 266 came while opening, and he has experience in other formats as well.
Click to expand...
And Babar Azam comes out to open the second innings for Pakistan against South Africa in the second Test in the absence of the injured Saim Ayub.
 
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