Babar Azam’s poor performance continues in BBLImage Credit source: Getty Images
The sequence of poor performance of Pakistani players in Australia’s Big Bash League is not stopping. Especially as much as the arrival of star players like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan was hyped, their performance on the field has been very poor. In T20 cricket, these two batsmen have forced everyone to shake their heads by batting like ODI and Test matches. The latest example of this was seen in the match between Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes, where the match was canceled but as long as the game went on, they were seen batting in the style of a Test match, let alone an ODI.
This match was played between Sixers and Hurricanes in Sydney on Sunday 11 January, which lasted only 5 overs. Sydney batted first in this match, where Babar Azam and Steve Smith came together to open for the first time. However, before the powerplay of his innings was over, rain came and the match was stopped. After this the match could not be resumed. Sydney had scored 32 runs in its 5 overs without losing any wicket.
Babar kept fighting again
The match was not completed but as long as we got to see Sydney’s batting, it once again raised questions about Babar Azam playing in this league. Firstly, the pair of Babar and Smith is not a very strong option for opening in T20. Even on that, Babar Azam batted as if he was playing a test match. The former Pakistani captain batted for 14 balls but could score only 9 runs, which included one four. Babar has been playing since the beginning of this league and still he has failed to bat fast. In contrast, Smith, who returned after playing the Test series 3 days ago, still batted fast and scored 19 runs in 16 balls.
Babar-Rizwan very low in terms of strike rate
But Babar’s condition was not only in this innings, but he was seen struggling to score runs in the entire tournament. In this entire tournament, so far he has been able to score only 154 runs in 8 innings, in which he has scored 2 half-centuries but his strike rate is only 104.05. He is at 66th position in the league in terms of strike rate, while many bowlers also have a better strike rate than him. But not only Babar, but the condition of his Pakistani teammate Mohammad Rizwan is even worse. The wicketkeeper-batsman, playing for Melbourne Renegades, has scored only 141 runs in 7 innings, in which his strike rate is only 100, while he has not been able to score a single half-century.