Need for speed? – Is Babar Azam lagging behind in T20 cricket?
Pakistan’s quest for a reliable No. 3 in the shorter formats was an eternal one. And then appeared Babar Azam. Just one year into his career, and there were comparisons already being made with Sir Vivian Richards. How is that for a youngster finding his ways in the game? There is little denying that Babar Azam is currently one of the best batsmen in the world. The Pakistan batting mainstay has been brilliant in international cricket ever since his debut. In fact, he has been constantly drawing comparisons with none other than Virat Kohli, undeniably the best in the world right now.
Babar was the big-match player for Pakistan in the World Cup of 2019. He ended as the highest scorer for them and eighth-highest overall with 474 runs from 8 innings at an average of 67.71 including one hundred and three fifties. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the ICC T20I rankings among all the batsmen around the world and is at number three in the ODI rankings.
Despite all of his consistent performances and achievements, Azam’s name is not taken in the same breath as those of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and Joe Root. The players with such credentials in India are almost made gods and worshipped. Perhaps, Nasir Hussain got it right when he said, “If this lad was Virat Kohli, everyone would be talking about it… but because it is Babar Azam, no one is talking about it.”
The lagging strike rate
So what could ideally be the reason behind this? Apart from the ignorance of people, of course. The lack of his match-winning abilities and especially in the shortest format of the game. That is where Babar must learn from someone like a Virat Kohli, whom he is often compared with due to the strange similarities in their numbers in T20Is.
In 41 T20Is thus far, Azam has scored a brilliant 1548 runs at an average of 49.94 i.e. almost 50, with 14 half-centuries to his name. Before the recently concluded series against England, his average was indeed 50 above and he was one of only two batsmen in the world to average 50+ in the format (in a minimum of 20 innings), Kohli being the other.
Where the problem arises for Azam is his strike rate i.e. 127.93. For someone who opens with the bat, he would want to strike a little better than that. Azam is not someone who plays negligent shots. He puts a price on his wickets and is renowned for playing textbook cricket. But when it comes to the shortest format, some changes become essential. An area where Kohli beats him is shifting gears and increasing the pace once he is set at the crease.
In a game where the overall run-rate was 10.10, Babar Azam batted 44 balls for a run-rate of 7.64. He surely is a great batsman but if he improves his SR it can give Pakistan extra 10-20 runs in every match. Having said that bowlers should have defended 195. #EngvPak
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) August 30, 2020
This is one zone where Azam lags behind. Even in the recent series, he got a half-century (56), but he ate up 44 deliveries for that and then lost his wicket. He was severely criticised for his lax approach. Although Pakistan raised a total of 196 in that innings, England chased it down comfortably with their super-attacking approach. Many termed Azam’s knock being near to a match-losing one since used up almost 37% of the resources available but scored only 28%.
Azam is undeniably a legend in the making and his numbers speak for that. If only he could address his defensive approach in the opening overs of a T20 match, there would be no one who would not bow down to him.
