Mohammad Rizwan has supported Babar Azam to get well with his form as Pakistan is preparing to take on New Zealand in the Tri-Series final in Karachi on Friday. Runs in this game will be convenient, although the larger goal of a long -term return to running will be convenient.
Babar has been fighting across formats for a while now, and although his form in ODIs – without a doubt his strongest format – has not fallen away as sharply as in the other two, it is down significant. Since the start of the Asia Cup in August 2023 he average 42.90 in 25 games, a race that has brought his career average down from 59 to mid -50s. If you take a single lap – at 151 – towards Nepal, the average in this race falls below 38.
This series has not looked like breaking that shape. He was dismissed in 10 in the first match against New Zealand, a painful lap that stretched over the entire powerplay and in sharp contrast to Fakhar Zaman’s blistering form at the other end.
In Pakistan’s record hunting at 353 against South Africa, Babar started and looked good until he was caught in front of Wiaan Mulder in 23. Rizwan claimed Babar had become a victim of his own success.
“Babar has scored so many races for Pakistan that we expect him to score a hundred in every game,” Rizwan said. “If we do not judge him by these extreme expectations, you will find out that he is still tiling in and contributing to us.
“As Captain I also expect a lot more from him because of everything he has done in the past. There is obviously an extra pressure because of it and I’m sure he feels it too. But if you look at his lap in South Africa, [he is still scoring runs]. It is not like he has clear technical deficiencies, but he is still being tested. I am convinced he will come out of it. “
“When Abdullah Shafique came out early in South Africa, Babar still had to play to open, rather than throwing another into the deep end”
Mohammad Rizwan
Babar hit the two fifties in Pakistan’s recent series victory in South Africa and made useful races in the ODI series in Australia before that, so there is a new form. But this return has been complicated by the fact that he was pushed up to open in this series – the first time he has fought there in ODIs for a decade.
It was necessitated by the damage to Said Ayub and Abdullah Shafique’s drastic loss of form across formats. This series was seen as a trial for Babar in this role, and the jury remains out of whether Pakistan will continue to beat him there under Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19th. Asked if he would consider opening – as he does in the T20s – if the Babar Plan did not work, Rizwan said he would do it.
“We have other players who can open if we need them to. Saim Ayub was a huge all-round stroke for us, including in the field because he was one of our best fields, opened batting and could bowl eight or so overs.
“His absence created a huge disturbance and we went for the safety of Babar Azam, which is our best dough. At the top if the ball swings he can control it. When Abdullah Shafique came out early in South Africa, Babar Deal had to anyway
