After a long string of low scores in the Test matches, the former all-format captain of the side, Babar Azam, was dropped during the second of the three-match Test series against England in Multan and was ignored for the last game in Rawalpindi. But the question stands if he could make a comeback in the national side.
Babar Azam has collected only 148 runs in eight innings of the red-ball format in this ongoing year 2024, four of which came against Bangladesh at home. The average of 18.50 was his worst since 2017 when he notched up 184 runs in 12 innings at an average of 16.73. His best score is just 31.
The Lahore-born struggled in the previous year, with an average of under 23, having smashed 204 runs in nine innings at a best score of 41. All of these resulted in him getting ignored for the red-ball format, are expected to make a return to the white-ball squad for their 2024 trip to Australia.
Babar Azam collected 1065 ODI runs last year in 24 innings at an average of 46.30 and a strike rate of 84.66, with the help of a couple of centuries and ten half-centuries at a best score of 151, which should be enough for him to retain a place in the 50-over squad.
Also Read: Bengal Makes This Surprising Request To BCCI Before Ranji Trophy 2024 Contest vs Kerala
The batter managed to collect 679 runs in the nine innings of the 2022 year at an average of nearly 85 at a strike rate of over 90, shouldering on five half-centuries and three centuries. However, he decided to leave the leadership duties after failing to reach the semifinal of the ODI World Cup 2023 in India.
Jason Gillespie confident of Babar Azam returning to top form across formats
The red-ball head coach of the Green Brigade, Jason Gillespie, remarked that their post-boy would be able to rediscover his form again and contribute heavily to the national side across formats.
Kamran Ghulam replaced him in the side at the number four position and straightaway left a mark with a century during the second Test in Multan, which the home side went on to win to end their 11-match losing streak at home.
“Well again, I. I cannot answer that because I’m not a selector. But what I will say is that Babar Azam is a fine player. I think he’s one of the best players in the world. And, yeah, he had a bit of a lean, lean patch, but I don’t think, but I don’t think many great players around the world have never had a lean patch.” The former Australian head coach expressed this during his interaction recently, on Sky Sports Cricket, where he hailed the 30-year-old as one of the finest batters in world cricket.
In the shortest format of the game, the veteran had a tough time captaining the Green Brigade during the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they failed to progress to the super-eight stage of the event with two successive opening defeats against the United States of America and India.
Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar And Ravi Shastri Slam Rohit Sharma For His Defensive Captaincy In Pune Test
In 18 innings of the current year, Babar Azam has powered 660 runs at an average of 38.82 and a strike rate of just over 130, with the help of six half-centuries.
“I‘m very confident. Babar Azam will be back, scoring a lot of runs for Pakistan in all formats. He’s just too good a player. He works hard in his game. He’s very precise with his preparation and what he needs to do to get ready. I fully expect him to have a huge role, going forward in the next little while for Pakistan.” Jason Gillespie concluded that the ODI series will begin on November 09 at the MCG.