Leg and off: Should Babar Azam stop opening for Pakistan in T20s?
Pakistan cricket is in serious disarray at the moment, and naturally, it is their skipper and ace batter Babar Azam, who is under the spotlight, which is perhaps brighter than ever. The leadership and batting have both been equally berated, and there is a feeling that when both are restored, Pakistan have a shot, but it might be too late for even that.
Barring a total revamp from top to bottom under Gary Kirsten, there is no sure-shot solution for the Men in Green at the minute. Even for that to happen, there must be clarity on Babar Azam's batting position. Although the outside noise is clear with their demands, catalyzed by comments from Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik, it lies entirely in the skipper's hands.
Babar's numbers at the top are magnificent, you don't score over 4000 T20I runs by accident. His chemistry with Mohammad Rizwan is also excellent, they have complemented each other quite well in the past, and have posted excellent numbers at the top.
The real problem here for the ace batter is that is not a numbers game anymore, it is an impact-based game, and unfortunately for him, it is indeed quantifiable and not arbitrary.
On that note, let us take a look at some of the factors to settle the debate regarding Babar Azam's batting position.
#1 Distribution of strength
In what is a common practice while structuring a batting unit - you try to not leave any one area too vulnerable. Yes, there may be weaknesses, but not so much that the opposition can easily exploit. In Pakistan's case, all the opponents need is one wicket, and wait for the rest of the dominos to fall.
It happened against the USA, it happened against India, and it will continue to happen unless Pakistan learn to distribute their strength and not leave it stacked right at the top. With such a vulnerable middle order, it makes little sense for Rizwan and Babar to pair up the top.
It is to be noted that despite Babar and Rizwan being among the runs against USA and India respectively, they ended up on the losing side. So, imagine the chaos when they both fail. The Men in Green need them both to fire simultaneously to win games, and that is just not possible on most occasions, particularly in these conditions.
There is no question about the fact that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are the two best batters on the team, in terms of pure skill. Yes, their approach is questionable, but the fact remains. More so than the pure prowess of the openers, it is the lack of it from the others that makes them shine. This is all the more reason to keep them apart in the batting unit.
#2 Powerplay utilization
Although powerplays have been bowling dominant in the 2024 T20 World Cup, in the long run, it will continue life before, to be a phase completely for the batters and for their team to get a massive headstart.
Under such circumstances, it is much more beneficial for more aggressive players like Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman to be given the opening slot, who can make better use of the fielding restrictions. They also bring in a left-hand-right-hand dynamic at the top with Rizwan.
Babar Azam is the ideal candidate to then take the baton and work around in the middle overs. However, when Rizwan and Babar are in the powerplay and both of them show bare minimum intent bordering on selfishness, it puts a lot of pressure on the already fragile middle order.
#3 Swallowing ego for the team's sake
Watching the entire charade in Pakistan cricket on and off the field is remarkably close or rather a scaled-up version to disputes in gully cricket.
Rizwan and Babar's stubbornness to keep opening the innings despite new, and more vibrant options coming up, sometimes feels like a child-like need to face the most balls out in the middle or have the best shot at scoring the most number of runs.
Individualism has plagued Pakistan cricket for a very long time, and if the skipper himself is the biggest pioneer of it, then you can hardly expect the trait from the rest. Sacrifice is something that every leader has to make at some point or the other, but the opposite happened in this case.
One of the first acts that Shaheen Afridi and Mohammed Hafeez committed during their brief time in charge was demoting Babar to No.3. Despite a 1-4 loss to New Zealand away from home during the experiment, the top three of Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan, and Babar Azam looked promising, and a possibly a long-term thing.
However, once Babar Azam returned as captain, it was inevitable that he would promote himself back up the order. All factors from Pakistan's perspective lead to Babar batting at No.3, but if he is unwilling to compromise with his ego and step a little outside his comfort zone, then the entire debate is futile.