The Pakistan all-formats captain Babar Azam is no doubt one of the country’s greatest batters ever produced. It’s not easy to score consistently in all formats of the game. His hard work and determination have led him to become one of the batters of modern cricket. But Babar Azam’s failures in tournaments have been a big concern of late. What makes it difficult for him to convert his outstanding form in multi-events?
Although in his first-ever event in a mega event in the 2021 T20 World Cup, he was the highest run-scorer. But the next T20 World Cup was followed by two Asia Cup failures. Let’s break down and analyse the key factors that could be the reason why Babar has been failing in the majority of the competition.
The first thing that we want to dismiss is the “captaincy pressure” from these factors. If that was the case, the numerous times Azam had led Pakistan through his batting would not have happened. So captaincy is out of this scenario as he already has the second most runs by PAK captain in all formats.
Babar Azam’s failures in tournaments: An overview of the record
As mentioned, his performance in the 2021 Men’s T20 competition was brilliant. He was named in the “team of the tournament” by the ICC while also awarded the team leader role. His performance as both a batter and a captain saw Pakistan reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
But as the batting maestro came to the next three competitions, he did not find his feet in those events.
Before are his tournament performances. The 2022 New Zealand tri-series is also included in the record.
| Tournaments | Inns | Runs | Ave | SR | 50/100 | HS |
| 2021 T20 WC | 6 | 303 | 60.6 | 126.25 | 4/- | 70 |
| 2022 T20 AC | 6 | 68 | 11.33 | 107.93 | -/- | 30 |
| 2022 tri-series | 5 | 192 | 48.00 | 123.87 | 2/- | 79* |
| 2022 T20 WC | 7 | 124 | 17.71 | 93.23 | 1/- | 53 |
| 2023 ODI AC | 4 | 207 | 51.75 | 97.64 | -/1 | 151 |
The numbers mentioned apart from the 2021 and tri-series events show how poor Babar has fallen behind. The 2022 Asia Cup and World Cup were perhaps Azam was at his worst. Even in the 2023 Asia Cup, apart from his 151 against Nepal, the Pakistan captain managed just 56 runs in the next three innings.
So what are the reasons for such downfall?
Middle-order failures
The number one issue that the national team failed in late 2019 till early 2022 was the failure of the middle order. The middle and the lower order were heavily reliant on the top order.
Such an example was shown in the England twenty20 series last year.
While there were good arguments that the openers themselves play more balls, giving less time to the MOI, the failures of the middle order were not able to put on the show despite Babar and M Rizwan’s failures in the games. This put extra pressure on the opening pair.
But the middle-order were the ones who solved the batting issues in the 2022 Aisan Championship and the World Cup. And despite it being resolved, the Pakistan captain could not get his old groove back.
This also happened in a similar situation in One Dayers in which the MOI were heavily reliant on Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul-Haq and the skipper himself. For those details, you can read the blog here: What is the issue with PAK’s middle order?
“Koi farq nahi parta” – Farq tu lazim para hay (“It doesn’t matter to me” – It did matter to him)
Babar’s famous lines “Koi farq nahi parta” went viral when he responded to Aqib Jabed’s statements on his and Rizwan’s failures and ‘personal attacks.’ He wanted to know the world so that it does not bother him who says what. But in reality, we can agree that it did indeed have an effect on him personally.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that not all journalists accept the same opinions. It’s not practical to say that all journalists “personally attack” the nation’s cricket squad, despite the fact there may be times when journalists criticize or judge the team. Like any other profession, journalism has a large variety of perspectives and intentions.
Yet, even after winning the match, some journalists may continue to be critical or examine them for a number of reasons. This includes Off-field Issues, Regional Rivalries, and Clickbait and Sensationalism.
One example can be given of Shoaib Jutt, a famous journalist known very well in Pakistan for his controversial statements, which bring more hate towards him. It’s important to keep in mind that journalism is a complex line of work, and numerous journalists may have different methods and goals in mind.
So all the unnecessary criticism has definitely got in the mind of our captain as a lot is expected from him.
Babar Azam’s failures in tournaments: What’s left for the 2023 World Cup?
So far he only registered five and 10 scores in two games. Remember, ODI cricket is Babar’s strongest suit. Among the players who played at least 50 innings, he averages 57, the third most in history.
It’s a long tournament and seven matches to go. Babar would need just one good knock to remind the world why he has been the number-one batter for the past two years.
Read More:
