King Babar or Zimbabar? Pakistan’s ace batter remains under scrutiny even after regaining form

Babar Azam has been struggling with his batting form, managing only 64 runs across four innings during the recent Test series against Bangladesh, where Pakistan suffered a 0-2 whitewash at home.

However, Pakistan’s premier batter has regained some momentum in the ongoing Champions One Day Cup, scoring his 30th List-A century on Thursday, becoming the first Pakistani batter to reach that milestone. This century came during a match in which former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed seemed to direct a sledge toward Babar.

Sarfaraz sledges Babar

During the seventh game of the domestic tournament, Babar entered the crease to loud cheers from the Faisalabad crowd. Shortly after, Sarfaraz, keeping wickets for the Dolphins, was caught on the stump mic encouraging his team by saying, "No hurry, no hurry! Let them keep chanting 'Babar, Babar'. We'll make him bat for 40 overs, the rest will get out." The clip quickly went viral, with fans interpreting it as a dig at Babar’s form and strike rate.

Despite the comment, Babar took control of the game, scoring a century off 99 balls and finishing with 104 from 100 deliveries. While Babar’s performance spoke for itself, Sarfaraz's sledge remained the most talked-about moment, grabbing headlines on various platforms. The viral video was widely shared, often at Babar's expense, as many used his form struggles to gain traction on social media.

This was not the first time Babar had been criticized unfairly. After Arshad Nadeem won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, some social media users compared his achievements to Babar’s, suggesting that Arshad deserved more recognition. While Arshad's accomplishments should be celebrated, it was unnecessary to belittle Babar to highlight Arshad's success. Even some former cricketers joined in these comparisons.

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali claimed that Arshad Nadeem’s gold medal triumph was a greater achievement than anything Babar had done, arguing that cricket is a team sport while Arshad’s victory was an individual feat.

Indian fans’ dislike for Babar

Since parting ways with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Basit has resurrected his YouTube channel, where he has often praised the Indian team and criticized Babar Azam, which has garnered significant views from India. Before the T20 World Cup, Basit issued a challenge to Babar, daring him to hit three consecutive sixes against top-tier teams, and vowed to delete his YouTube channel if Babar succeeded.

India's Virat Kohli meets Pakistan's Babar Azam during the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.AFP

Indian cricket fans' dislike for Babar stems from his rise between 2019 and 2022, a period during which many Pakistani fans began calling him ‘King,’ a title Indian fans used for Virat Kohli. During this time, Kohli was experiencing a dip in form. Babar even tweeted in support of Kohli during his struggles, but some Indian fans took it the wrong way. Now, with Babar going through his own dip in form, they seize every opportunity to mock him, amplifying criticism from Pakistani YouTubers and former cricketers.

Indian fans have also coined the nickname "Zimbabar" for Babar, implying he only performs well against weaker teams like Zimbabwe. However, Babar’s stats tell a different story. While his highest ODI average is indeed against Zimbabwe (114.75), his highest Test average is against England (61.1), and his most Test runs (925) have come against Australia. In T20Is, his highest average (63.83) is also against Australia. Although he has played just two Tests against Zimbabwe, his highest score is only two runs. Even in ODIs, his most runs (906) are against New Zealand, with his highest score (158) against England.

Reasons behind Babar’s dip in form

The fact can’t be ignored that Babar is going through a dip in form in international cricket and hasn’t lived up to the standards he had set for himself during his golden form days during the 2019-2022 period.

It can be argued that the constant changes in the PCB leadership haven’t helped Babar’s mental space, with each PCB chairman coming and raising question marks over Babar’s captaincy. During Ramiz Raja's term in 2022, Babar had full freedom as captain, which coincided with strong individual performances despite Pakistan team's struggles in Test cricket at home. However, when Najam Sethi replaced Ramiz, Babar’s future as captain was put in doubt, with the ODI World Cup approaching.

Pakistan's Captain Babar Azam (C) is embraced by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja after the final of 2022 T20 World Cup.AFP

In April 2023, Sethi publicly acknowledged the debate around Babar’s captaincy. He consulted the selection committees led by Shahid Afridi and later Haroon Rashid, who both initially felt the matter needed discussion but ultimately decided to retain Babar. Sethi stated that while he supported Babar for the time being, the final decision would depend on Pakistan's success or failure.

Babar initially responded to this uncertainty by performing well with the bat, especially in the home series against New Zealand, where Pakistan rose to the top of the ODI rankings in May 2023. He also became the fastest player to score 5,000 ODI runs during the series, which also included his last century in ODI format. However, doubts had already crept in when Babar was rested for the T20I series against Afghanistan in March 2023, with Shadab Khan stepping in as captain. This, along with the ongoing questions about his leadership, likely contributed to his decline in form.

After Pakistan's failure to reach the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup, Babar stepped down as captain in all formats, with the new PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf, requesting him to relinquish white-ball captaincy. However, he was reappointed as T20I captain by the current chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

The instability within the PCB is not new; past players and captains have faced similar challenges. However, Babar’s struggles in T20s can also be attributed to his own failure to adapt to the modern game, where aggressive play is prioritized. His role as an anchor contrasts with the current T20 trend of attacking from the start, as seen with players like Travis Head in ODIs, let alone T20s.

Babar Azam in action during the second Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.AFP

Furthermore, Babar has not scored a fifty in his last 16 Test innings, with his last Test century coming in 2022 against New Zealand. Under his captaincy, Pakistan failed to make it to the knockout stages in both the recent ODI and T20 World Cups. Now, Babar must focus all his energy on his batting, as his best response to critics will be his performances with the bat.

New idea or mere gimmick

While Babar has to overcome his struggle, his sledging incident with Sarfaraz Ahmed has exposed a deeper issue within Pakistan cricket. Many critics seem eager to find reasons to undermine Babar Azam and Pakistan cricket.

It also begs the question whether introducing a segment where the mentors are mic’d up and showing their interaction with the team during the drinks break adds any value to the tournament or is it just a new gimmick, which can potentially backfire.

Sarfaraz, as one of the mentors whose interactions are broadcast on TV, also finds himself in the spotlight. Although his sledge to Babar was captured by the stump mic and not during a drinks break, the practice of televising such interactions could invite unnecessary controversies, providing critics with more ammunition to target Pakistan cricket.