There is no end to the Babar Azam conundrum in T20Is. The former Pakistan captain played a horrendous shot against the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup fixture in Colombo on Saturday, bringing the Dutch back into the contest. Had Faheem Ashraf not hit 29 runs off 11 balls, Pakistan might have lost the opener in Group A. Babar came to the middle after the loss of Salman Ali Agha; however, his introduction slowed the tempo considerably, and he only managed 15 runs off 18 balls.
Babar Azam was shown no mercy following his flop show against the Netherlands (AFP)
Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali lambasted Babar for the abysmal show against the Netherlands, saying he could be dropped for the next match against the USA, claiming the current coach Mike Hesson wasn’t pleased with the way Babar threw his wicket away.
“I have a feeling that Babar will not play in Pakistan’s next game. The anger I saw on coach Mike Hesson’s face… I don’t think that he will play Babar at no 4 again in the next game,” said Ali on the ‘Game Plan’ show.
Speaking of Babar’s dismissal, the batter wanted to go over the top only to hole out to long-off. The delivery was nicely tossed up, prompting Babar to dance down the track. He was undone in the flight and only managed to skew a mistimed lofted drive, and the fielder in the deep had no trouble in completing the catch.
‘Kahan se superstar hai?’
Basit Ali then argued that Babar is not the right fit in T20Is, saying he is far from being a superstar in the format. It is worth noting that the 31-year-old failed to get going for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League (BBL) before the World Cup.
In the match against Sydney Thunder, Babar was denied a single off the final ball of an over by Steve Smith as the latter wanted to make the most of the Power Surge. This sparked a major controversy, with Babar even slamming the boundary rope with his bat after being dismissed.
“If you call Babar Azam a superstar in ODIs or Tests, I might still agree. But in T20Is? Kahaan se superstar hai? (How is he a superstar?) A batter who drops down from his regular batting position and comes out to bat at no 4, and cannot even tell the management that he’s not a no 4 batter! Doesn’t Babar know this?” said Basit.
“Even a club cricketer will tell you that in T20S, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, they are all better players in the format than Babar! Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub are also better T20 players than Babar. Even Salman Ali Agha has shown that he’s a better player at No. 3 than Babar. After what Steve Smith did with Babar Azam in the Big Bash League, people still haven’t become wise! He denied a single just to prevent Babar from getting on strike. His game is not suited to T20s,” he added.
Before the start of the T20 World Cup, Pakistan captain Salman Agha had stated that the management wouldn’t shy away from dropping Babar if he doesn’t fit right in the team combination.