Pakistan’s star batsman Babar Azam once again flopped. Babar could not convert a good start into a big score against England. Babar, who made his mark with a hat-trick of ODI centuries in 2016, has continued to decline in form since 2023.
ENG vs PAK T20 World Cup Match: Super-8 match is being played between Pakistan and England in Pallekele. Batting first, Pakistan team has scored 112 runs after losing 3 wickets in 15 overs. Babar Azam once again proved to be a flop. Babar scored 25 runs in 24 balls at a strike rate of 104.16.
Babar Azam bowled by Overton’s fast ball
Babar Azam got bowled while trying to pull short the ball of England fast bowler Jamie Overton. Babar Azam, a right-handed top-order batsman, was born in Lahore. Babar Azam is the cousin of former Pakistan cricketer Akmal brothers.
Strike rate of only 128 in T20 matches
Talking about Babar Azam’s career, his strike rate in T20 matches is only 128.18. In this format he has scored 3 centuries and 39 half-centuries. However, Babar’s bat has remained silent throughout this World Cup.
Records and achievements
Babar Azam may be struggling with poor form right now, but his record is excellent. Apart from being the second fastest batsman to score 2000 runs in ODIs, he is also the fastest batsman to score 1000 runs in T20Is. 2022 was the peak year of his career. He ranked among the top three batsmen in the world in both Test and ODI. That year he scored 1184 Test runs, which included four centuries. Particularly memorable was his long innings of 196 runs in the home series against Australia, which lasted almost ten hours and was crucial in drawing the match.
Babar Azam’s captaincy and challenges
By the end of 2020, Babar Azam was made the captain of all three formats. There were huge expectations from him and he was counted among the most successful all-format captains of Pakistan after Imran Khan. But after Pakistan’s poor performance in the 2023 World Cup and the decline in red-ball cricket, questions started being raised. His form in Test cricket declined in 2023 and 2024. In these two years, he made only one Test fifty and his average was 21.36. He stepped down from the captaincy at the end of 2023 amid turmoil over leadership in Pakistan cricket.