What took Babar Azam so long to debut in international cricket?

[Sher Khan]

Babar azam made his first class debut at the age of 15. By then, he was already moving up the ranks in age level cricket. At the Under 19 level he was well known for his immense batting talent and captained Pakistan in the u19 wc in 2012.

I believe he should have debuted after the 2013 CT where Pakistan were humiliated and should have replaced Younis Khan in Odis and be groomed for the 2015 WC. At the age of 19, he was ready for the top level.

What are your views? Do you think Pakistan wasted a few years of giving him an opportunity.

 

[Mainul]

I think so.

It was Misbah culture in the team which prevented his debut. Misbah and selector co wasted a few years of Babar, ruined the whole career of Fawad Alam, destroyed the peak times of some pacers. Pakistan had a tradition of debuting players at a very young age, gone are days of Waqar,Wasim, Salim Malik, Miandad, Aaqib,Mystaq,Ijaj,Inji, Anwar who were debuted mostly as teen ager.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

If misbah younis Afridi hadn't retired after 2015, he would have to wait until 2019.

 

[zain7077]

I disagree. So thankful he debuted straight after the Misbah era or else he would have been ruined as well.

 

[Sher Khan]

I disagree. So thankful he debuted straight after the Misbah era or else he would have been ruined as well.

I thought Younis was useless in odis. Malik was also below average between 2011-2015. Azam deserved a chance in the middle order.

 

[Sean143]

Babar azam made his first class debut at the age of 15. By then, he was already moving up the ranks in age level cricket. At the Under 19 level he was well known for his immense batting talent and captained Pakistan in the u19 wc in 2012.

I believe he should have debuted after the 2013 CT where Pakistan were humiliated and should have replaced Younis Khan in Odis and be groomed for the 2015 WC. At the age of 19, he was ready for the top level.

What are your views? Do you think Pakistan wasted a few years of giving him an opportunity.

There are a number of reasons:

I have been following Babar Azam for about 10 years, and always thought he was going to succeed Javed Miandad as our all time best batter.

When Babar started playing regular FC cricket after 2012 WC, he was straight away in the spotlight of the selectors, and was selected for Pakistan Blues to Play against Pakistan Greens (the main Pak side at that time), interestingly in one of the games he supported Asad Shafiq to second the senior fellows. He was straight away noticed by the likes of Afridi (who were in favor of giving him a go at that time, as indicated by their interviews at that time).

Around the 2013 season his finger or wrist was broken because of the substandard pitches in Pak domestic cricket. You might remember not seeing him turn up for ZTBL in the T20 tournament where his teammate Shinwari rocked SNGPL in the final.

In the next season he was really on song, in both list A and FC (where he combined with Usman Salahuddin to make the finals ). You might also remember the final of that FC season, which was decided on the first innings lead. Babar got a daddy double hundred after failing in the first innings. His case wasn't that strong though at that time, since we had a settled top 7 in tests, and Babar was actually preferred for test matches at that time.

I do remember my high school and college days when I would rave about Babar Azam (who was sort of a nobody at that time), and my fellows would think I was ridiculous.

Fun Fact: I actually stumbled upon PP while following Babar.

Babar could have been selected for the CWC 2015, but he couldn't do much in Pakistan Cup (got out on a duck to a Sohail Khan yorker in his very first game). He did rack up a lot of runs in the next domestic one day tournament as an opener, and then there was nothing stopping him after that.

 

[Junaids]

I think so.

It was Misbah culture in the team which prevented his debut.

This is absolutely true.

In Autumn 2014, Babar Azam scored a sensational century against the touring Aussies in the UAE. He was clearly ready for international cricket.

But the geriatric trio of Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq refused to retire, and Misbah used his power to ensure that they stayed in the team for as long as they wanted.

I will be very careful about what I say about Mickey Arthur, because I'm aware that he would like to return to complete the job he started of rejuvenating (literally making young) Pakistan cricket.

Let's just say, I haven't spoken with Mickey, but I know from another source that on the England tour in 2016 he was tearing his hair out, desperate to replace Hafeez with Sami Aslam and desperate to get Babar Azam into the team so that he didn't have to learn international cricket on tour in Australia. But it was obvious to Mickey that there would be an unsavoury power struggle to get Babar into the team at that stage, so he had to wait.

It's the great tragedy of Mickey Arthur's reign. He wasted half his tenure waiting for Misbah to retire, so that he could introduce talented youngsters. And then he was deposed because of problems CAUSED by Misbah's geriatrics slowing the development of youngsters.

And now Misbah has replaced him.

So Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sami Aslam and Shadab Khan are out, as is Sameen Gul.

And in their places are Mohammad Irfan aged 37, Abid Ali aged 32, Iftikhar Ahmed aged 35+ and Imran Khan.

It's absolutely shocking how Misbah is dismantling all the progress and reinstating failed seniors.

 

[QalandarFan]

This is absolutely true.

In Autumn 2014, Babar Azam scored a sensational century against the touring Aussies in the UAE. He was clearly ready for international cricket.

But the geriatric trio of Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq refused to retire, and Misbah used his power to ensure that they stayed in the team for as long as they wanted.

I will be very careful about what I say about Mickey Arthur, because I'm aware that he would like to return to complete the job he started of rejuvenating (literally making young) Pakistan cricket.

Let's just say, I haven't spoken with Mickey, but I know from another source that on the England tour in 2016 he was tearing his hair out, desperate to replace Hafeez with Sami Aslam and desperate to get Babar Azam into the team so that he didn't have to learn international cricket on tour in Australia. But it was obvious to Mickey that there would be an unsavoury power struggle to get Babar into the team at that stage, so he had to wait.

It's the great tragedy of Mickey Arthur's reign. He wasted half his tenure waiting for Misbah to retire, so that he could introduce talented youngsters. And then he was deposed because of problems CAUSED by Misbah's geriatrics slowing the development of youngsters.

And now Misbah has replaced him.

So Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sami Aslam and Shadab Khan are out, as is Sameen Gul.

And in their places are Mohammad Irfan aged 37, Abid Ali aged 32, Iftikhar Ahmed aged 35+ and Imran Khan.

It's absolutely shocking how Misbah is dismantling all the progress and reinstating failed seniors.

My frustrations with Misbah summed up

 

[Hasan123]

This is absolutely true.

In Autumn 2014, Babar Azam scored a sensational century against the touring Aussies in the UAE. He was clearly ready for international cricket.

But the geriatric trio of Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq refused to retire, and Misbah used his power to ensure that they stayed in the team for as long as they wanted.

I will be very careful about what I say about Mickey Arthur, because I'm aware that he would like to return to complete the job he started of rejuvenating (literally making young) Pakistan cricket.

Let's just say, I haven't spoken with Mickey, but I know from another source that on the England tour in 2016 he was tearing his hair out, desperate to replace Hafeez with Sami Aslam and desperate to get Babar Azam into the team so that he didn't have to learn international cricket on tour in Australia. But it was obvious to Mickey that there would be an unsavoury power struggle to get Babar into the team at that stage, so he had to wait.

It's the great tragedy of Mickey Arthur's reign. He wasted half his tenure waiting for Misbah to retire, so that he could introduce talented youngsters. And then he was deposed because of problems CAUSED by Misbah's geriatrics slowing the development of youngsters.

And now Misbah has replaced him.

So Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sami Aslam and Shadab Khan are out, as is Sameen Gul.

And in their places are Mohammad Irfan aged 37, Abid Ali aged 32, Iftikhar Ahmed aged 35+ and Imran Khan.

It's absolutely shocking how Misbah is dismantling all the progress and reinstating failed seniors.

Mickey Arthur had to wait about 8/9 months for Misbah to retire , he was coach for 3 years. So how is that half of 3? )

Secondly Misbah has played with Shadab Khan in domestic cricket, so if he isn't selecting him for tests it should be an indication that he just maybe isn't as good as you think. Shadab cannot even put 2 balls on the same spot, his accuracy is appalling. That's why he can't be the frontline spinner in tests.

India beat Australia with 4 specialist bowlers , your team England also beat Australia in the ashes in 2010/2011 with 4 bowlers. South Africa beat Australia in 2016 with 4 bowlers. Your theory of batting to 9 with 2 all rounders is hogwash and nothing but a urban myth.

 

[Hyperion66]

Babar was lucky to have spent a fair amount of time in the domestics which I believe is absolute must for any player unless one is a one in a century talent, which Babar is not. I do not believe in selecting raw and underdeveloped player just for the shock value and show off. One of the reasons why talents often don't last in Pak is because they debut too early, lack patience and are not matured enough to learn from mistakes and evolve.

 

[Majid Khan]

I would say Babar was unlucky not be selected earlier because Pakistan was blessed with world class batsmen like Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, who especially post 2010 excelled against all the top teams like Aus and SA scoring big 100s against strong bowling attacks probably more consistently then anyone has since Tendulkar and Lara.
Kids like Babar clearly had no chance to get a breakthrough into the team in the presence of such heavyweights.

 

[j_kazmi]

You could also argue that grinding it out in domestics helped him become the player he is today. Yes, he was talent spotted a decade ago but maybe his domectic experience gave him the extra polish he needed.

 

[Mainul]

This is absolutely true.

In Autumn 2014, Babar Azam scored a sensational century against the touring Aussies in the UAE. He was clearly ready for international cricket.

But the geriatric trio of Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq refused to retire, and Misbah used his power to ensure that they stayed in the team for as long as they wanted.

I will be very careful about what I say about Mickey Arthur, because I'm aware that he would like to return to complete the job he started of rejuvenating (literally making young) Pakistan cricket.

Let's just say, I haven't spoken with Mickey, but I know from another source that on the England tour in 2016 he was tearing his hair out, desperate to replace Hafeez with Sami Aslam and desperate to get Babar Azam into the team so that he didn't have to learn international cricket on tour in Australia. But it was obvious to Mickey that there would be an unsavoury power struggle to get Babar into the team at that stage, so he had to wait.

It's the great tragedy of Mickey Arthur's reign. He wasted half his tenure waiting for Misbah to retire, so that he could introduce talented youngsters. And then he was deposed because of problems CAUSED by Misbah's geriatrics slowing the development of youngsters.

And now Misbah has replaced him.

So Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sami Aslam and Shadab Khan are out, as is Sameen Gul.

And in their places are Mohammad Irfan aged 37, Abid Ali aged 32, Iftikhar Ahmed aged 35+ and Imran Khan.

It's absolutely shocking how Misbah is dismantling all the progress and reinstating failed seniors.

That's really horrible attitude from Misbah. Thanks for the information. I had some personal grudge against Mickey for not taking Pak cricket forward as my expectations, but now it is clear from your comment that he had limitations . Misbah has done more damage to Pak cricket than good. He holds so much power in Pak cricket but he is misusing his power clearly. I foresee a terrible tenure of Misbah as selector cum coach if he doesn't drastically change himself. Already we saw Pakistan was harassed by SRL B team at home. I think many more to come .

 

[hussain.r97]

Didn't debut before because Misbah was in charge, and it was probably for the better because Misbah would have ruined him. Say what you want about Mickey, he recognized the value of investing in and grooming youngsters, and Babar's success at the international level can at least partly be attributed to Mickey Arthur's mentorship.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

There are a number of reasons:

I have been following Babar Azam for about 10 years, and always thought he was going to succeed Javed Miandad as our all time best batter.

When Babar started playing regular FC cricket after 2012 WC, he was straight away in the spotlight of the selectors, and was selected for Pakistan Blues to Play against Pakistan Greens (the main Pak side at that time), interestingly in one of the games he supported Asad Shafiq to second the senior fellows. He was straight away noticed by the likes of Afridi (who were in favor of giving him a go at that time, as indicated by their interviews at that time).

Around the 2013 season his finger or wrist was broken because of the substandard pitches in Pak domestic cricket. You might remember not seeing him turn up for ZTBL in the T20 tournament where his teammate Shinwari rocked SNGPL in the final.

In the next season he was really on song, in both list A and FC (where he combined with Usman Salahuddin to make the finals ). You might also remember the final of that FC season, which was decided on the first innings lead. Babar got a daddy double hundred after failing in the first innings. His case wasn't that strong though at that time, since we had a settled top 7 in tests, and Babar was actually preferred for test matches at that time.

I do remember my high school and college days when I would rave about Babar Azam (who was sort of a nobody at that time), and my fellows would think I was ridiculous.

Fun Fact: I actually stumbled upon PP while following Babar.

Babar could have been selected for the CWC 2015, but he couldn't do much in Pakistan Cup (got out on a duck to a Sohail Khan yorker in his very first game). He did rack up a lot of runs in the next domestic one day tournament as an opener, and then there was nothing stopping him after that.

Quality post.

Babar could and should have played at least one or two years before he debuted and it would cost him and Pak in the long run.

 

[Kroll]

Unfortunately, this was the case with a few others primarily to do with Misbah.

Babar definitely should have debuted much earlier as he was being touted as the best young batsman in the system from early on.

 

[Slim]

Purely the Misbah effect where he prefers older players to seek vindication of some wrong done to him when he was young LOL

 

[topspin]

This is absolutely true.

In Autumn 2014, Babar Azam scored a sensational century against the touring Aussies in the UAE. He was clearly ready for international cricket.

But the geriatric trio of Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq refused to retire, and Misbah used his power to ensure that they stayed in the team for as long as they wanted.

I will be very careful about what I say about Mickey Arthur, because I'm aware that he would like to return to complete the job he started of rejuvenating (literally making young) Pakistan cricket.

Let's just say, I haven't spoken with Mickey, but I know from another source that on the England tour in 2016 he was tearing his hair out, desperate to replace Hafeez with Sami Aslam and desperate to get Babar Azam into the team so that he didn't have to learn international cricket on tour in Australia. But it was obvious to Mickey that there would be an unsavoury power struggle to get Babar into the team at that stage, so he had to wait.

It's the great tragedy of Mickey Arthur's reign. He wasted half his tenure waiting for Misbah to retire, so that he could introduce talented youngsters. And then he was deposed because of problems CAUSED by Misbah's geriatrics slowing the development of youngsters.

And now Misbah has replaced him.

So Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sami Aslam and Shadab Khan are out, as is Sameen Gul.

And in their places are Mohammad Irfan aged 37, Abid Ali aged 32, Iftikhar Ahmed aged 35+ and Imran Khan.

It's absolutely shocking how Misbah is dismantling all the progress and reinstating failed seniors.

Bang on the money here Junaids.

I should also add Misbah's mishandling of Babar, when he made him bat at 3 for what was his first tour of Australia.