Babar Azam - Pakistan Cricket's most crucial asset
In the years leading up to the Champions Trophy of 2017, Pakistan's batting numbers had very little to boast about at the international ODI stage. Between 2013 and 2017, they did not have a single batsman among the top ten run-scorers of the world in the calendar year.
Although Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq were relatively stable batsmen, Pakistan missed that star element in its top order. They did not have a batsman like Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, AB De Villiers or Steve Smith who could single-handedly win them matches. There was a gaping hole in their top order that needed to be filled by a batsman with the calibre of stars that all these other top teams had. Along came Babar Azam to fill that very hole.
A young, talented and smart batsman, Azam was everything that Pakistan cricket needed at that time. In fact, in a very small amount of time, he became Pakistan cricket's most crucial asset.
Since his ODI debut in 2015, Azam has managed to turn more than just a few heads in international cricket. His impeccable consistency makes him the glue that holds together the entire Pakistani batting line-up in the shorter format of the game. His ODI batting average of 53.55, with 10 hundreds and 15 fifties, is among the top five in the world (min 20 innings). Aside from India, he averages over 40 against every team in the top 10.
The perfect No. 3 for Pakistan
What makes Azam a particularly useful asset for Pakistan is that he has managed to fall right into place at the No. 3 slot, which once belonged to Hafeez. Hafeez’s inability to tackle pace had always been one of Pakistan’s most significant batting weaknesses against the better bowling sides.
Where Hafeez averaged 20.15 against genuine pace bowling, Babar Azam now averages 45.82 against the same bowling type. This means he has the ability to see out the threat of early pace and movement of the ball, even if Pakistan loses an opener inside the first few overs.
Highlights of his career
His career thus far has been marked by one legendary milestone after another. In October 2016, he became the eighth batsman in the world to score three back-to-back ODI hundreds. His total of 360 runs in this series against West Indies was remarkable in relative terms; the next best run-scorer stood at just 119 runs. With a strike rate of nearly a 100, Babar Azam seemed invincible against the West Indian bowling.
Shortly after, in January 2017, Azam scored 282 runs against Australia in a 5-match ODI series with an average of 56.40. As Pakistan’s highest scorer in that series, Azam’s brilliant performances gave the team a reason to hold their heads high, despite a 1-4 loss in the series. Later in the year, Azam managed to establish himself as somewhat unbeatable in UAE with another feature of back-to-back hundreds against Sri Lanka in the country. His batting average in the UAE is at a solid 64.47 from 19 innings.
Although 2018 did not reap much reward for Azam in terms of run accumulation, he was able to bounce back much strongly in 2019, displaying the extent of his resilience.
So far he averages 59.12 from 18 games in 2019, including a remarkable display in the World Cup. Along the way, he also became the joint second fastest to 2000 ODI runs and the second fastest to 3000 ODI runs.
There are several statistics showing how his run-scoring curves have thus far been ahead of even Kohli’s, if just their first 72 ODIs are compared. However, these comparisons remain futile until Azam is able to show the kind of immaculate consistency and focus that the game’s greatest players have displayed through a course of several more years.
If, like Kohli, Babar is able to carry his phenomenal batting form forward from one series to the next, year after year, only then is he likely to end his career as one of the best batsmen ODI cricket has ever seen.
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