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What role can Babar Azam play for Pakistan in the ODI team?

marlonbrowndo

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I rate Kohli as the best LOI batsman in the world so dont mistake this as a comparison thread. Babar is nowehere near Kohli's level yet. However after seeing the type of limited batsmen we are producing our only hope is this guy. There are only 2 actual dynamic batsmen in Pakistan; Babar and his cousin of which the former actually has a brain which is why I rate him so highly. A case can be made for Hafeez however he is known to choke at the big stage. Kohli is a tier above the rest of the Indian batting lineup and the same can be said for Babar in Pakistan's batting lineup.

We dont have the luxury of not playing him in the top 3 in both ODIs and T20s. While every single batsman in Pakistan has at least one weakness, I have yet to find a major weakness in this boys game. I think the PCB really needs to invest in this guy because he has been showing signs of brilliance since before his under 19 days. He was easily our best batsman against New Zealand even though it was his first tour outside the subcontinent against a decent attack in games where all our batsmen except 2 failed. He is technically very sound, has great balance when playing his strokes, has multiple gears, doesnt get bogged down at the crease and looks to score off every delivery without taking risks by rotating strike something that makes him so un-Pakistani.

Anyone with half a brain will know that 4 is too low a position for him to bat and he should open for us in LOIs when Haris comes back. Really the only people in our LO team I can really expect to deliver on a consistent basis are Amir and Babar. PCB needs to wrap these 2 in cotton wool and invest in them. I think Babar should be groomed for captaincy in all three formats. Yes test cricket as well. Please dont destroy the purpose of this thread by thinking I am comparing him to Kohli. All Im saying is that even at the age of 21 he is easily the best batsman in the country. Mohammad Yousuf himself said after the 1st England ODI that he has played club cricket with him and if he puts his head down and focuses on cricket he can become a great player.

Pakistan will never improve in the shorter formats till they stop the defensive rubbish and start playing the 3 best batsmen in the top 3. Give Babar, Umar and Haris a long run in the top 3 and maybe that will improve our fortunes in LOIs because at the moment nothing else is working.
 
He can be Pakistan's best batsman across all format along with Haris sohail is what i believe. He is dynamic and can play all sorts of bowling. He is our only hope along with haris. Haris' 3-4 years have been wasted already due to selector's idiocy.


PS- I know you are not comparing him to kohli but even by mentioning kohli's name in the title can earn you backlash . should have avoid bringing kohli's name here which was totally possible.
 
He can be Pakistan's best batsman across all format along with Haris sohail is what i believe. He is dynamic and can play all sorts of bowling. He is our only hope along with haris. Haris' 3-4 years have been wasted already due to selector's idiocy.


PS- I know you are not comparing him to kohli but even by mentioning kohli's name in the title can earn you backlash . should have avoid bringing kohli's name here which was totally possible.

Youre right. And I dont mind. Sensible people will know that Im not comparing them but comparing their roles for their respecitive teams
 
Why is he not part of the current squad?

Some fracture supposedly but people were just not disappointed enough at his exclusion. Some were actually happy that he wasnt selected because he "isnt a t20 player". Dont understand how Pakistani fans think sometimes. You have rubbish hacks coming through yet you feel he shouldnt be in the current T20 squad.
 
I have hopes from him and I feel he can become world class and I think he needs to hardwork more hardwork talent alone is not going to make him world class and he should be properly managed by and should be given a role whether opener or at 3 but for 10 -15 matches
 
bowl him 5 dot balls, he will throw his wicket away.

Doesnt even know how to take a single in t20 cricket.

Saw him play 2 matches, showed such a disgusting performance that he was forced to sit out for the whole PSL
 
He can be Pakistan's best batsman across all format along with Haris sohail is what i believe. He is dynamic and can play all sorts of bowling. He is our only hope along with haris. Haris' 3-4 years have been wasted already due to selector's idiocy.


PS- I know you are not comparing him to kohli but even by mentioning kohli's name in the title can earn you backlash . should have avoid bringing kohli's name here which was totally possible.

Not all formats. Can become the best in LOIs. He is not Test material yet. He should work really hard in FC cricket first.
 
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Didn't bother reading the OP, but honestly what is wrong with Pakistanis and over hyping players ? No other fans are so fickle that they rate the players that aren't in the team as the world's next ATG and when they do get a chance and fail once, they are now useless and should never be picked again.

Babar Azam from what I have seen of him is a good player, who I think can average 40 in both formats but placing unnecessary expectations such as being the next Kohli etc. shouldn't be done because if he doesn't manage to match Kohli's achievements then he'll seem like a failure.
 
I always thought so. Babar Azam needs to be groomed at No.3. He and Shabbir from BD have the potential to do what Kohli does for India.
 
Didn't bother reading the OP, but honestly what is wrong with Pakistanis and over hyping players ? No other fans are so fickle that they rate the players that aren't in the team as the world's next ATG and when they do get a chance and fail once, they are now useless and should never be picked again.

Babar Azam from what I have seen of him is a good player, who I think can average 40 in both formats but placing unnecessary expectations such as being the next Kohli etc. shouldn't be done because if he doesn't manage to match Kohli's achievements then he'll seem like a failure.

Knew this would happen. I said I am not comparing him to Kohli and I even said he is not near Kohlis level. But he can be a very good player for us in the future. His game is nowehere near Kohlis but he can play that role for us in the future because of how average most of our other batsmen are
 
Babar needs to show that he is not like his cousin in terms of temperament for starters. Kohli is epitome of batsmanship atleast in LOIs, he should look upto him as a role model.
 
Not all formats. Can become the best in LOIs. He is not Test material yet. He should work really hard in FC cricket first.

Look at Asad Shafiq and Azhars stats. Average first class stats but amazing List A stats. Dont go by stats. He is technically very sound and has a brilliant defensive game. He shouldnt be in the test 11 yet but keep him in the test squad as a replacement for an injured player and give him the odd game.
 
Babar needs to show that he is not like his cousin in terms of temperament for starters. Kohli is epitome of batsmanship atleast in LOIs, he should look upto him as a role model.

He has shown it so far and yes I agree with the Kohli part
 
bowl him 5 dot balls, he will throw his wicket away.

Doesnt even know how to take a single in t20 cricket.

Saw him play 2 matches, showed such a disgusting performance that he was forced to sit out for the whole PSL

I agree he needs to improve his Strike rotation.

He is young and if he works on this facet, he will definitely improve.

I think he would have played more PSL matches if he wasnt injured
 
Knew this would happen. I said I am not comparing him to Kohli and I even said he is not near Kohlis level. But he can be a very good player for us in the future. His game is nowehere near Kohlis but he can play that role for us in the future because of how average most of our other batsmen are

No need to mention Kohli then.

Yes he can be a good player for Pakistan and no, I don't think he has and will probably not have the ability of Kohli to be able to chase down targets in LOIs so effectively and consistently.
 
No. He can't be Kohli. He will never have the attitude or technique to help Pakistan win as many chases or post so many par scores in first innings. Wishful thinking bro. Sorry. Kohli, Williamson, Smith, ABD and Root are in a very very very different league. One that Babar doesn't have the resources to reach. Sorry.
 
He has shown it so far and yes I agree with the Kohli part

He has hardly started his career, he can consistently show for atleast 50 games then I would say he is better interms of temperament. You have to remember even Umar looked Million dollar at start.

In essence I agree with your opinion, he should be given an extended run in ODIs at 3. He will improve his wak points like S/R roation and temperament.
 
Please no more Pakistani Virat Kohlis :facepalm:

We already supposedly have 2 Kohlis in our batting lineup who are just Kohli in their head but on field they are not even one tenth of the player Kohli is.
 
Not all formats. Can become the best in LOIs. He is not Test material yet. He should work really hard in FC cricket first.
He scored a 260 in the final of FC season last year. And he absolutely mudered all bowlers. He would have scored a 300 but in the end he was trying to take his team to a secure total with time to spare .

He can be Pakistan's best in all formats. I maintain that.
 
Of course he isnt Kohli and he might never become half as good but he can play a similar role for a very weak Pakistani batting lineup. Please read the OP before you reply
 
I wonder Why shehzad and umar would not discuss about their batting with virat so that they can improve and comes good as a batsman. Is there any problem in doing so.
 
Another hype thread.. Apart from a couple of 50s what has Babar done to earn the badge? How could anyone claim that he is a tier above all Pakistani batsmen? Kohli has proven himself consistently over the years as India's best LO bat (while chasing especially not sure about batting first though) but what has Babar done? You say he might turnout to be half the player Kohli is, possible, yes, but it's very possible he might also turnout as useless as his cousin U Akmal, who lost it after 1 season. Let Babar achieve something and then create these threads.
 
When it comes to bat under pressure there is no one better than VK, not even AB


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Babar Azam is the real deal. Whether he can be THAT good remains to be seen.

what's going on with Haris sohail? still injured? he's also a player.
 
Of course he isnt Kohli and he might never become half as good but he can play a similar role for a very weak Pakistani batting lineup. Please read the OP before you reply

I read the OP and IMO we need to reduce the obsession with Kohli and the point you are making could have easily come accross without the multiple references to Virat Kohli. I have already seen what happens to our players when their name is put in the same sentence as Kohli.

Overall what you are suggesting is not a bad idea. The only thing is there is a high chance that these players will take a couple of years to fit in the role and are the fans and management able to cope with possibly a couple of years of failure?
 
Purposely used Kohli in OP?

Why not Root, Amla or some other player?

Why use ATG of the generation to hype Babar.
 
Considering UA is also looking to bat at that position might lead to friction in future.

From the matches he looked very good and PCB should defn invest in him and the batting can revolve around UA and Babar maybe giving them extra responsibility will give them the extra "push".
 
Don't insult Virat Kohli by drawing any comparisons please.
 
Can you guys please stop doing this every other young Pakistan batsmen.

Next Sachin, Next Kohli and Next blah blah
 
He doesn't have to be a Virat Kohli. He will be worth his weight in gold if he can average 40 at a SR of 90 batting in the top 4.

Him and Haris are only hopes in the batting department, along with Shafiq (Tests).
 
He doesn't have to be a Virat Kohli. He will be worth his weight in gold if he can average 40 at a SR of 90 batting in the top 4.

Him and Haris are only hopes in the batting department, along with Shafiq (Tests).

52 @ 90 in India is the same as 45 @ 85 in Pakistan which is what the point of this thread is. And I agree though Azhar is also good in tests
 
He has the potential, you can't and don't need to judge him so early in his career.

Virat Kohli was not the Kohli of today when he started out. He used to struggle. AB de Villiers wasn't AB that we know when he started out and was quite average for a number of years.

Batsmen are DEVELOPED. Give guys like Babar, Haris, Sami Aslam, Saud and Amin proper, LONG ropes; for at least 2 years.

See them become super stars.
 
He has the potential, you can't and don't need to judge him so early in his career.

Virat Kohli was not the Kohli of today when he started out. He used to struggle. AB de Villiers wasn't AB that we know when he started out and was quite average for a number of years.

Batsmen are DEVELOPED. Give guys like Babar, Haris, Sami Aslam, Saud and Amin proper, LONG ropes; for at least 2 years.

See them become super stars.

Yes but these players(Kohli, AB etc) were surrounded by match winning batsmen so the team could afford the initial struggling period. Pakistan does not have that luxury at the moment. Like i said, i dont ming the idea but will the fans and management be able to handle the pressure of a few years of failure?
 
He & Haris 'll never become a run machine like Virat - not in Pakistan. The moment, they start to score regularly, they 'll be dropped to 4 & 5, if not 6. Batting is a culture, which Pakistan doesn't have.

Every PAK great were developed in County - the last 3 (Inzi, MoYo, YK) that didn't have that much county exposure were lucky that they had Bob for almost 4 years - career cumulative stats 'll show what wonders Woolmer did to these 3 in their career - even Inzi, at official 35, became among top 3 players in World sometimes between 2004 to 2006.

Batting is much more methodical, process oriented & tactical - Jaime Siddons & Stuart Law laid a plan for BD batsmen sometimes in late 2010s - we can see the impact in the technique & style of BD players, almost without any International, County or any PL exposure.
 
I rate him as the best young batsman I've seen from Pakistan in the last 15-16 years. He played a very good knock in NZ and should certainly bat at 3 in ODIs. However I do think he'll be better at setting targets unlike Virat who prefers chasing targets.
 
he is a top talent the problem is the handling of such players is despicable by the pcb and management..take umar akmal for example instead of helping him with confidence and belief and batting him up the order they continuously batted him low down and he thought of himself as a slogger.. then being dropped from the test/odi team after a couple of failures then brought back then dropped etc, this type of mismanagement destroys young talent and makes them lose belief in they ability. They should stick with a promising player bat him in the top 4 horn his skills instill confidence and make him feel important only then we can see if someone like azam has truly what it takes. Look at steve smith had shocking start to his career but patience and persistence payed off.
 
I rate him as the best young batsman I've seen from Pakistan in the last 15-16 years. He played a very good knock in NZ and should certainly bat at 3 in ODIs. However I do think he'll be better at setting targets unlike Virat who prefers chasing targets.

He's scored most of his runs chasing.
 
Massive difference between scoring runs while chasing and being a great chase r like a Dhoni or a Kohli . Actually it's too early to say since I've seen little of him .

I didn't compare him to them just said he's scored most of his runs chasing and has shown good temperament and a calculated approach.
 
Oh, for God sake, young man has not cemented his place in national team yet and you're expecting him to be our Kohli, on what basis ?? Stop dreaming, be realistic.
 
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He's scored most of his runs chasing.

Yep. He's got the temperament to chase and has all the shots. He's got a better brain than his cousin too. They should have a very clearly defined role for him and heck even have a batting coach dedicated for him and Harris. He should be sure of his place and the more games he plays, the better he will be. The most important thing is to keep his batting position constant. Otherwise, he'll be confused as [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] indicated.
 
I didn't compare him to them just said he's scored most of his runs chasing and has shown good temperament and a calculated approach.

Yes that's true. Considering his age he showed pretty good temperament and I hope they don't push him down the order to 5 or 6.
 
Oh, for God sake, young man has not cemented his place in national team yet and you're expecting him to be our Kohli, on what basis ?? Stop dreaming, be realistic.

Read the OP first. He's not saying Babar will become a player of Kohli's caliber just saying he can do a similar job for Pakistan.
 
Players like Babar and Haris have respectable domestic stats in all formats of the game, and are a class apart compared to their peers.
 
Look at Asad Shafiq and Azhars stats. Average first class stats but amazing List A stats. Dont go by stats. He is technically very sound and has a brilliant defensive game. He shouldnt be in the test 11 yet but keep him in the test squad as a replacement for an injured player and give him the odd game.

Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali's Test stats are inflated. After our overseas tours this year, they will match their FC records.
 
He scored a 260 in the final of FC season last year. And he absolutely mudered all bowlers. He would have scored a 300 but in the end he was trying to take his team to a secure total with time to spare .

He can be Pakistan's best in all formats. I maintain that.

For becoming a great in Tests, he must first improve his FC average, he should be averaging above 50 in FC.
 
Yep. He's got the temperament to chase and has all the shots. He's got a better brain than his cousin too. They should have a very clearly defined role for him and heck even have a batting coach dedicated for him and Harris. He should be sure of his place and the more games he plays, the better he will be. The most important thing is to keep his batting position constant. Otherwise, he'll be confused as [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] indicated.



In ODI, the role for top 3 is to bat for getting 100 - depending on era, appropriate SR had changed, but No. 1, 2 & 3 are run machines, as long as they are not selfish.

Ideally, for 90s, PAK should have 1, 2 & 3 of Saeed, Sohail & Inzi. Fortunately Saeed, Sohail were domestic openers, therefore could hold on to their numbers, but Inzi went to 5,6 for sledge-hammer man at 3 & later Lala replaced Sohail as opener :(

In 2000s, it should have been Saeed/Butt, MoYo, Inzi - PAK dropped MoYo, Inzi at 4, 5 .......

Ideally, PAK should plan a Top 5 for WC 2019 of Sami/Saud Shakeel, Babar, Haris, Umar, may be Amin or Malik at 5/6, Sarfraz 6/5 & then the utility all-rounder at 7 - Imad, Hammad, Yamin doesn't matter, I would have developed Hasan Mohsin as the WC is in UK; as long as he is capable of <70 sort of stat (Sum of batting & bowling average, if it's 40 with bat & 30 with ball - you have the Kapil Dev) & brilliant in field. And the role of these top 3 is to score big, without hurting the RR & built big partnerships at the start, so that throughout the innings, there is a set batsman. The moment, you put your big scorers like MoYo or Inzi below 3 - that's the end of batting strength; you 'll always struggle to put big scores (or chase it) even on the flattest of wickets (unless the opposition Captain comes from Lalaland) & bank on individual blitz in the later overs.
 
I would be glad to see a batting great coming from Pakistan.

People here think that Indians feared Pakistani bowlers but i dont think they know that its Pakistani batsmen which we were more worried about. Pakistan had good batsmen when Indian had their own greats throughout the history, but right now Pakisan has no batsman which can walk in to Indian team at any position. So contest is a bit boring for me.

While resurgence of Amir is a great thing but i want to play our batsman against yours. Get like two good batsman and we will have same old :aag back in our games.
 
Inhon ne bhi disappoint hi karna hai.

We have had such batsman before too who threatened to be the mainstay of our batting but they all faded away. Babar Azam will be no different.
 
I have a feeling that this thread will get bumped for ages.

He's not really being compared to Kohli per se.

Basically thread is that he can be our most important batsman which for all we know could mean that he could be half the batsman that Kohli is
 
Its quite easy to come along and say this is nonsense, Babar will turn out to be another flash in the pan, who will impress and then fade away like the rest of them we had high hopes in ---- but seriously, this trend has to end sometime and there will be that once/twice-in-a-decade batsman coming along any minute now in Pakistan cricket, his arrival is overdue.

By this I mean a batsman who can come along and potentially average 50 in test cricket and score 100s in ODI cricket too. Mohammed Yousaf and Younis Khan were the last two who came at the end of the 90s. In the next decade, a few glimmer of hopes came in Imran Nazir briefly, Salman Butt, Umar Akmal, Nasir Jamshed, Sohaib Maqsood, Azhar Ali, but these were obviously not the 'real deal'.

So who could be the real deal?

Babar Azam, or that opener from Pak U19 who has scored a lot of runs (Sami something ?), no one else that I'm aware of on the horizon as yet.. but I have a feeling he's coming !
 
Oh dear, I can't edit my post above.. how on earth did I miss the Little Master, I reckon that's him the once-in-a-lifetime talent that we've been waiting for !
 
I will be honest: normally I don't respond to hype threads like this.

However, there is a first for everything.

I was talking about him a few weeks ago. I've been really impressed by him and he keeps the score ticking over. He plays some good shots.

I am looking forward to him playing for Pakistan regularly.
 
If people read the OP, he's not overstating anything. Everyone knows Kohli is one of a kind.

I can agree with his premise. Azam is the closest thing to a high-quality batting prospect in the country. He does have the potential to become as good as Kohli.

For a lot of our prospects, you can tell they'll NEVER reach that status even if everything goes right for them.

For Babar, if everything goes right, he could attain greatness.
 
52 @ 90 in India is the same as 45 @ 85 in Pakistan which is what the point of this thread is. And I agree though Azhar is also good in tests

No, they aren't same. Pakistan also produces belters like India.

Babar can look upto Kohli but he can't be the Kohli of Pakistan.
 
No, they aren't same. Pakistan also produces belters like India.

Babar can look upto Kohli but he can't be the Kohli of Pakistan.

You still dont understand what Im saying. I was talking in context of the respective batting lineups of the country
 
I have a feeling that this thread will get bumped for ages.

Obviously, you are an Indian and this thread thread is praising a Pakistani batsman.

Didnt see you getting such feelings when threads about malcolm bumrah were created. :yk
 
Let's get him on the park first. Fitness levels of all the youngsters are pretty poor in Pakistan
 
I do not know what kind of injury he has picked up but it sure has kept him out of the side for a good two three months.

And Haris has been A.W.O.L for quite a while now. If he does not start playing domestics soon it may be the end of his budding career.
 
Pakistan needs to invest in this guy, remember, tendulkar didn't score his first 100 till 70 games ...

Afridi should be out of T20. Sarfraz should be captain and we need to bring talent and invest.
 
Obviously, you are an Indian and this thread thread is praising a Pakistani batsman.

Didnt see you getting such feelings when threads about malcolm bumrah were created. :yk

Actually this thread is praising an Indian batter and hoping that a quality prospect from PAkistan could follow Kohli as a role model
 
Hafeez
Fakhar
U Akmal
Sarfraz
Babar
Rizwan
Nawaz
Imad
Wahab
Amir
Junaid


This would make for an interesting combination post July when Hafeez can bowl again.
 
If people read the OP, he's not overstating anything. Everyone knows Kohli is one of a kind.

I can agree with his premise. Azam is the closest thing to a high-quality batting prospect in the country. He does have the potential to become as good as Kohli.

For a lot of our prospects, you can tell they'll NEVER reach that status even if everything goes right for them.

For Babar, if everything goes right, he could attain greatness.

The only point I disagree with.

There are not a lot of batsmen IN THE WORLD who could become AS GOOD AS KOHLI.

Yet, in Pakistan, we have found someone who could become as good as him?

I mean, cmon.

He could be a great bat for Pakistan, but it would be impossible to reach Kohli.
 
Its quite easy to come along and say this is nonsense, Babar will turn out to be another flash in the pan, who will impress and then fade away like the rest of them we had high hopes in ---- but seriously, this trend has to end sometime and there will be that once/twice-in-a-decade batsman coming along any minute now in Pakistan cricket, his arrival is overdue.

By this I mean a batsman who can come along and potentially average 50 in test cricket and score 100s in ODI cricket too. Mohammed Yousaf and Younis Khan were the last two who came at the end of the 90s. In the next decade, a few glimmer of hopes came in Imran Nazir briefly, Salman Butt, Umar Akmal, Nasir Jamshed, Sohaib Maqsood, Azhar Ali, but these were obviously not the 'real deal'.

So who could be the real deal?

Babar Azam, or that opener from Pak U19 who has scored a lot of runs (Sami something ?), no one else that I'm aware of on the horizon as yet.. but I have a feeling he's coming !

I have heard that Batsman has arrived. He has been kept isolated from this world by the authorities since his birth, some where in between karakoram range and taxkorgan . They are preparing for his launch BUT the connecting road is blocked due to landslinding and snowing, and the helicopters can't fly that high. Hopefully they will clear out that road soon.
 
The only point I disagree with.

There are not a lot of batsmen IN THE WORLD who could become AS GOOD AS KOHLI.

Yet, in Pakistan, we have found someone who could become as good as him?

I mean, cmon.

He could be a great bat for Pakistan, but it would be impossible to reach Kohli.

I mentioned that in my post later on.

Most prospects come in and their ceiling isn't high at all. Thus, even if they reach their max potential, they don't come near Kohli's quality.

Babar Azam's max potential makes it possible for him to dream big. Will he reach it? Hell no, especially in our system.

"Impossible" is a strong word. They said the same thing after Tendulkar and now Kohli is there (for LOIs).
 
The only point I disagree with.

There are not a lot of batsmen IN THE WORLD who could become AS GOOD AS KOHLI.

Yet, in Pakistan, we have found someone who could become as good as him?

I mean, cmon.

He could be a great bat for Pakistan, but it would be impossible to reach Kohli.
Nothing is impossible. I disagree with your last line.

Its possible he becomes better than kohli and its possible that he doesnt become even as good as his cousin.
 
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