Who said what - top 3 expert reactions on Babar Azam's duck vs Bangladesh in 1st Test ft. Ramiz Raja
After the disappointment of the recent T20 World Cup, Pakistan's packed international season began with the first Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on August 21. The hosts were immediately put under pressure at 14/2 with ace batter Babar Azam walking out to resurrect the side once again.
Yet, as has become commonplace lately, he succumbed to be dismissed for a two-ball duck. After a confident-looking tuck onto the onside off his first delivery, Babar was strangled down the leg side off the next delivery to leave Pakistan reeling at 16/3 in the first session on Day 1.
It was his first Test duck at home and his first since the Zimbabwe tour in 2021.
While Pakistan have recovered since and sit pretty at 349/4 on the second day, much of the discussion after Day 1 centered around Babar's shocking dip in form in the red-ball format.
The 29-year-old has not scored a half-century in 12 innings since the start of last year and averages a dismal average of 21 in that period. Babar's overall Test average has also dropped to just a tick over 45 in 53 outings.
His dismissal for a duck and poor recent Test form triggered several experts' reactions and here we look at the top three.
# 1 Basit Ali
Former Pakistan international Basit Ali had an interesting take on Babar Azam's dismissal for a duck in the opening Test against Bangladesh. He felt the batters' habit of picking up the ball after every delivery in the nets had built a habit of playing every ball.
On his YouTube channel at the end of Day 1, he said:
"I had earlier pointed out that the nets in Pakistan are very close to the batters. If he leaves the ball, he has to go pick up the ball and throw it at the bowler. Because of this, a habit has been formed that the batters try to hit every ball."
Ali also felt Babar shuffling across his stumps to avoid being caught at slips led to his strangle down the leg side in the ongoing Bangladesh Test.
"He shuffled a lot on the very first ball that he faced. He is focusing on batting on the off stump to make sure he doesn't get out in the slips. He was playing Shaheen Afridi the same way in the nets. On the ball that he got out, you can see that the leg stump was visible. It is a wrong technique," added Ali.
Apart from being his eighth duck in Tests, it was also Babar's 18th time of being dismissed without opening his account across formats.
# 2 Ramiz Raja
Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja felt Babar Azam had been lacking intent at the crease lately, resulting in his poor run of form in Test cricket.
The champion batter is averaging under 17 in the red-ball format this year at a strike rate of 52.12.
Reflecting on Day 1 and Babar's dismissal on his YouTube channel, Ramiz said:
"Babar Azam is not scoring runs in Test cricket. He needs to show more positive intent because he is a great batter. He needs to try and not play everything from his crease. Instead try and be positive with the stride and spend time in the middle. Because he does not have any technical flaw and this dismissal being strangled down leg was a wierd one."
Despite being dismissed for no score, Babar still boasts an incredible Test record at home. He averages almost 68 in 14 home Tests with six centuries and seven half-centuries.
# 3 Kamran Akmal
Former Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal believes Babar Azam's lack of form exposes the entire middle order. He also felt his technique of exposing the wickets left him vulnerable on seaming tracks.
On his YouTube channel, Akmal said:
"Babar looked shaky immidiately and he is the one who completes this batting lineup. The team looks up to him and trusts him to bail them out of trouble by carrying the middle order. The way he is batting by exposing his wickets will be especially difficult to sustain on seaming conditions."
Babar had an excellent Test record against Bangladesh coming into the ongoing Rawalpindi encounter. The stylish batter averaged over 80 in three Tests with a century and a half-century.