"Babar Azam never scores runs in a big tournament against a big team" - Varun Aaron says Babar and Rizwan let Pakistan down in 2024 T20 World Cup
Varun Aaron has claimed that Babar Azam never delivers in big tournaments against formidable teams. He noted that the Pakistan skipper and Mohammad Rizwan let their team down in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan were eliminated from the ongoing T20 World Cup before the Super Eights. Babar (122) and Rizwan (110) were their only players to aggregate more than 50 runs in the tournament.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Aaron was asked about Pakistan's underwhelming batting performances in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
"They are dependent on Babar and Rizwan, and both Babar and Rizwan let Pakistan down. There are talks about Babar, especially, before every big tournament, but Babar Azam never scores runs in a big tournament against a big team. Your main player needs to stand up against big teams," he responded.
The former India pacer noted that Pakistan's batters, unlike the Men in Blue's Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, don't want to face pressure situations.
"If you see India, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya always put their hands up and say that they will play against big teams and take the pressure moments. I think no batter in the Pakistan lineup wants pressure moments. They are running away from pressure. They will have to face pressure head-on if Pakistan cricket has to progress," Aaron observed.
Babar scored 44 runs against the United States of America, and 33 and an unbeaten 32 against Canada and Ireland respectively. He managed a 10-ball 13 and was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah in Pakistan's six-run loss to India.
"Their strike rates didn't go above 130 even leading into the World Cup" - Aditya Tare on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan
In the same discussion, Aditya Tare noted that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's below-par strike rates is hurting Pakistan.
"It was an extremely disappointing performance, especially from the Pakistan top order. Both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are their best T20 batters. However, the sort of strike rate they have, of course, the conditions were slightly difficult for batters, but their strike rates didn't go above 130 even leading into the World Cup," he said.
The former Mumbai wicketkeeper-batter added that teams are put on the back foot if their openers score at a slow pace.
"As a top-order player, that can harm your team a lot. If we see world-class teams like Australia, India and England, their openers have strike rates close to 150. However, if you are batting at a strike rate of 125 as an opener, you are putting your team on the back foot," Tare observed.
Babar has amassed 4,145 runs at a strike rate of 129.08 in 116 T20I innings. Rizwan has aggregated 3,313 runs in 89 T20I knocks at an even lower strike rate of 126.45.