LiveLoveABD
ICC Board Member
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2013
- Location
- Kolkata, India.
- Profile Flag
- India
- Online Cricket Games Owned
- Don Bradman Cricket 14 - PS3
Babar Azam is ranked no.1 in T20Is since October 29th, 2018. He has been the best T20 batsman since 2017. Nobody has been averaging higher and scoring more than him in T20Is since then. He is also the fastest to 1000 T20 runs in the entire world.
As far as his strike rate is concerned, he has increased it from 115 to 128 in last 1 and half year or so. His average strike rate in last 4 T20 series is 148.52 (excluding the Sri Lanka series). I do agree with your point that he needs to improve even further, but he has improved a lot and he is improving with every passing day. Also, consider the fact that he isn't the agressor and his role is to play till the end.
He averages 57.50 in Australia, 80 in England, 54 in Pakistan and New Zealand, 50 in South Africa and 49 in UAE and 60.33 while captaining the Pakistan T20 team. His T20 career's average is 50.72.
Babar scored 3 T20 hundreds last year; against Sindh, Hampshire and Leicestershire. Babar also has a 90 at Wanderers against South Africa, 97* in Karachi against West Indies and 90 against World Xi at Gadaffi Stadium Lahore as well.
The 25-year-old was the leading run scorer in the 2019 Vitality Blast (his first Vitality Blast tournament), amassing an incredible 578 runs at an average of 52.54. He struck a sublime 102 not out at the Ageas Bowl and boasted an impressive tournament strike rate of 149.35.
This is all when he is only 25 years old and debuted just 3 and half years earlier. It is astonishing to see how you are making claims without any proof.
There is no question that Azam is improving and it looks like he has all the makings. The ICC rankings are worth cow dung. There is no proof needed for it, it's just a fact. There are 10 batsmen in the world who are better T20 batsmen than Babar at the moment.
Stats will tell you Kohli is India's best batsman in T20's and that is far far from the truth.
Stats are just stats. They give clues, but the entire picture is always skewed.
I really simply hope that Azam just continues on this road and world cricket can do with a Pakistan that challenges the top 3. Too much talent not to. I also hope they don't discard Zaman completely. I think that Haider Ali fellow can really bat. Again, depends on his growth.
Bowling? Yeah, they fall off like apples in an orchard in Pakistan. Hope they make Shadab VC in LOI. He's another gem.
EDIT- Hope then ban Umar Akmal for life.