Babar Azam has been in terrible form for quite some time now, and fans and critics both have started to question his place in the test side. It has been 784 days, he last scored an international century, and his last test century came 1031 days ago.
He is facing a lean patch similar to Virat Kohli, who couldn’t score a test century for 1020 days between 2019 to 2022. But it’s not only about scoring centuries. Virat Kohli played a number of match-winning innings during that century drought, which Babar has been unable to replicate.
Babar was dropped from the T20I team after a couple of disappointing T20I world campaigns, and it seems that his luck is running out in tests as well. If he doesn’t turn his form around, he may face the axe soon.
Till December 2022, Babar was averaging 49.25 with the bat in tests, but it has taken a severe dip since then, and it has fallen to 42.31. But what is the main reason behind his lackluster performance?
A case could be made about his lack of game time. Babar has not played much cricket in the past year. Since T20 cricket has taken central stage, Pakistan has been playing only a few Tests and ODIs each year. They have mostly been playing T20I cricket, and Babar is not part of the T20I squad, hence he has not got much game time.
And during that free time, Babar did not play any domestic tournament or foreign T20 leagues. He had a chance to play first-class cricket to get some runs under his belt but he didn’t. First-class cricket gives the player a chance to work on his flaws and find form. Imam ul Haq did that recently when he had a brilliant run with the bat in the English County Cricket.
Because of that record, he was brought straight into the team, replacing Saim Ayub.
Babar Azam, on the other hand, hasn’t played first-class cricket for 6 years, which means he hasn’t got much game time in him. Cricket statistician and analyst Mazhar Arshad pointed it out as well about Babar Azam:
“Babar Azam has been getting starts but not converting them into big scores in Tests. One reason could be the lack of first-class cricket. He is playing red-ball cricket after 8 months. And the last time he played a first-class match for a non-Pakistan team was 6 years ago.”
If you look closely, there is not much wrong with his technique. He has mostly been getting out to non-threatening deliveries. During his brief stays on the crease, he seems to time the ball well, only to get out through soft dismissals. During the ongoing series, he has scored 81 runs in 3 innings. He got good starts in all three innings but could not capitalize on them. There seems to be a mental block in his mind similar to Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli has one of the most eye-pleasing cover drives in the game, but he kept getting out to the deliveries outside off, edging them behind to the wicket keeper and slip cordon. And this weakness turned out to be deadly as he had to retire from test cricket at the back of consistently poor performances.
Similarly, Babar has been mostly getting out to spinners. He has been a great player of spin in the past, but he only looks like a shadow of himself right now. He looks clueless whenever a spinner comes on to bowl, be it test cricket or white-ball cricket.
If Babar doesn’t work on his weaknesses and doesn’t get out of this mental block, he may face the axe soon. He has become a burden on the team because he is holding the most important number 4 position in the batting lineup. And Pakistan has a very capable replacement for him in the form of Kamran Ghulam, who can play spin really well, and he showcased it when he scored a century in his debut test match.
Pakistan’s next test series is against England in England, and it won’t be easy for Babar to bat there in seaming conditions. He must focus on playing first-class cricket and try to get back in form, otherwise he would lose his place in the team the same way he lost it in the T20Is.
