Babar Azam will not regain his place at the top of the Pakistan batting order. Coach Mike Hesson appeared to confirm that ahead of Pakistan’s Super Eights game against New Zealand, referring to the former Pakistan captain as “a fine player through the middle if required”.
Hesson’s comments carried a critique of Babar’s game in the powerplay, the first time a Pakistan coach or management official has been so candid in their assessment of Babar’s approach during the fielding restrictions.
“Babar’s well aware that his strike rate in the powerplay is less than 100 in T20 World Cups,” Hesson said. “That’s not a role we think we need here. We think he’s a fine player through the middle if required. If we’re in a little bit of trouble, or as we saw against the USA, once he gets himself set, he can increase his strike rate at that point.”
Across the fourT20 World Cups Babar has played, he has faced 217 deliveries in the powerplay, scoring 187 runs. That equates to a strike rate of 86.17, making Babar the only player in T20 World Cup history to have faced 200 balls in the powerplay and ended up with a strike rate below 90. His long-time opening partner Mohammad Rizwan is third on that list, with a strike rate of 98.17.
Babar’s dip in T20 form first resulted in him losing a spot in the side altogether, and upon his recall following the Asia Cup, he has eventually slipped down the order, making No. 4 his modal position. It is where he batted during Pakistan’s bilateral T20I series against Australia, and he has continued in that role for the first three games of this World Cup. At that position, too, his returns have been serviceable rather than explosive, with a strike rate of just over 120.
However, there are signs that the window in which Babar is useful to Pakistan’s T20I side is shrinking ever further. Against Namibia, Pakistan’s second wicket did not fall until the 13th over. It was Khawaja Nafay, and then Shadab Khan, who were sent out, making it the first time in Babar’s T20I career that he did not come out to bat. Hesson explained that by saying there were others in the team able to perform that finishing role “more efficiently”.
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He also said Babar would need to adjust to the role demanded of him. “It’s what the team requires [Babar batting lower down the order]. Babar’s well aware of that. We brought Babar back in for a specific role post the Asia Cup. We wanted some batsmanship through the middle, and he certainly brings that for us. And he did many games through the last ten. The other day we got to the 12th over mark and from that point, Babar’s not the best person to come in.”
New Zealand, whom Pakistan face in the first Super Eights game, may prove even trickier for Babar in those middle overs, when Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra find fertile ground to operate. Despite Babar’s perceived struggle against left-arm spin, neither bowler has ever got him out. Santner has gone wicketless in nine innings against him, and Ravindra wicketless in two T20I meetings with Babar.
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Ian Bishop – Babar Azam still building himself into new role for Pakistan
Ian Bishop and Urooj Mumtaz on Babar Azam’s innings
However, Babar has not been exactly free-scoring against them, managing 61 in 56 balls against New Zealand captain, or a strike rate just under 109. Against Ravindra, it is less than a run a ball over a much smaller sample size – 11 in 12 balls.
It is a curious evolution for Babar in the Pakistan side, but this role, given his skillset and current form, is perhaps the only one that makes sense. Hesson said he was useful to the side if it needed anchoring and was “in a little bit of trouble”, like an emergency safety net if things go wrong, rather than an integral part of making sure they go right. While that, in theory, would make what was once among the finest batters of his generation expendable, Babar cannot, for a mixture of cricketing, administrative and wider public-support reasons, currently be expended.
As such, his place in the side has ended up existing in reverse: rather than aiming for a skillset and then looking for a player that satisfies it, Babar’s place in the team exists fait accompli, and then a use for him has been found.
“Babar’s the first person to acknowledge that … he’s got a certain set of skills the team require and there are certain times we’d want players who can perform that role more efficiently,” Hesson said. In the absence of a clear definition of what that set of skills is, Babar, who single-handedly made himself Pakistan’s most famous current cricketer, must now build a role that justifies his place in that team.
