Basic HTML Version

|  | Table of Contents |  | View Full Version

Page 39 - The Indian EYE 031326
P. 39

    STUMP VISION                                                           MARCH 13, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 39

                 From Prodigy to Paradox:

                                          BABAR AZAM

                  AT THE CROSSROADS

             The fundamental issue is tempo, Babar’s career T20I strike rate of 128.02 once reflected stability. In the modern game,

                 it reads caution. Today’s elite openers operate between 160 and 180, turning Powerplays into demolition phases

                                                                                                                  wasn’t rotation, it was recalibration.
                                                                                                                  The team moved forward without
                                                                                                                  him in the shortest format. Symbol-
                                                                                                                  ically, it was seismic. Add to that his
                                                                                                                  red-ball slump, 18 consecutive Test
                                                                                                                  innings  without  a  fifty  before  being
                                                                                                                  dropped in 2024, and the crossroads
                                                                                                                  became unavoidable.
                                                                                                                      Yet here lies the paradox:
                                                                                                                  Babar’s technique remains immacu-
                                                                                                                  late. His ability to construct long in-
                                                                                                                  nings is unquestioned. The problem
                     ARCHAN MEHTA
                                                                                                                  is not class, it is compatibility. T20
                                                                                                                  cricket  has  evolved  into  a  high-oc-
                  he trajectory of Babar Azam is                                                                  tane ecosystem that punishes hesi-
                  one  of  modern  cricket’s  most
            Tcompelling        rise-and-reality                                                                   tation. One-day internationals and
                                                                                                                  Test cricket, however, still reward
            stories. From a ball boy in Lahore                                                                    tempo control, innings building, and
            in 2007 to starring in successive Un-                                                                 calculated pacing, the very pillars of
            der-19 World Cups, his rise felt in-                                                                  Babar’s game.
            evitable. By 2016, three consecutive                                                                      And perhaps that is where the
            ODI centuries against West Indies                                                                     irony settles in. When Kohli endured
            announced a generational talent. In                                                                   his lean phase, Babar publicly sup-
            T20Is, he became a statistical giant:   Babar Azam’s technique remains immaculate. His ability to construct long innings is unques-  ported him with the now-famous
            4,596 runs in 145 matches, 42 fifties,      tioned. The problem is not class, it is compatibility (ANI File Photo)  phrase: “This too shall pass.” At the
            three hundreds, and a record 3,268-                                                                   time, it was a gesture of empathy
            run opening partnership with Mo-  concerning was his Powerplay strike   with Virat Kohli once felt natural   from one modern great to another.
            hammad Rizwan. At his peak, he    rate of 86.17, numbers that stall mo-  as around 2021–22, Babar overtook   But cricket has a sense of symmetry.
            wasn’t just Pakistan’s best batter, he   mentum rather than create it. Babar,   Kohli in ODI rankings, and stylisti-  The slump may pass, yet in Pakistan’s
            was the blueprint.                a classical purist, values his wicket   cally, the parallels were undeniable   T20 setup, the “pass” has already
                The 2021 T20 World Cup was his   like a Test opener. But T20 cricket   with his balance, timing, and ortho-
            coronation: four half-centuries and   demands controlled chaos. Instead   doxy. But where Kohli recalibrated   been taken. The team has moved on,
                                                                                                                  tactically and philosophically.
            a historic 10-wicket win  over India.   of evolving with the template, he ap-  his tempo and reinvented his white-  Maybe this isn’t decline. Maybe
            But T20 cricket evolves ruthlessly.   peared trapped between eras.  ball approach, Babar’s adaptation   it’s the direction. If longevity matters
            By 2022, he managed just 124 runs     His final stretch underlined the   lagged. Both endured 83-innings   more than noise, if legacy outweighs
            in seven innings, and by 2024–26, the   shift in perception. In four innings at   century droughts; Kohli’s break-  format loyalty, then the solution is
            decline was clear, the match-winner   the 2026 World Cup, he managed 91   through reignited his aura. Babar’s   clear. Follow the Kohli route, domi-
            had become an accumulator, his aura   runs at an average of 22.75. Demot-  felt like temporary relief in a storm   nate ODIs, reclaim Tests, and let T20
            replaced by scrutiny.             ed from his familiar opening role to   of scrutiny. The weight of captaincy   cricket belong to the new-age disrup-
                The fundamental issue is tem-  No. 4, and even No. 5 in a must-win   after the 2023 ODI World Cup deba-
            po, Babar’s career T20I strike rate   against Namibia, he was no longer   cle, internal turbulence, and eventual   tors. Because sometimes in cricket,
                                                                                                                  survival isn’t about adapting to every
            of 128.02 once reflected stability. In   the axis but the insurance policy. His   loss of leadership appeared to chip   format. It’s about choosing the one
            the modern game, it reads caution.   last appearance before a drastic deci-  away at his instinctive authority.  that still chooses you.
            Today’s elite openers operate be-  sion was emblematic: 25 off 24 balls   Then  came  the  defining  mo-
            tween 160 and 180, turning Power-  against England. When Pakistan re-  ment. In 2026, with Pakistan needing   Archan Mehta is a writer dedicated to
            plays into demolition phases. In the   quired urgency, they received preser-  a 64-run win over Sri Lanka to qual-  telling compelling stories about ath-
            2026 T20 World Cup, Babar’s overall   vation.                       ify  for  the  semi-finals,  management   letes, teams, and the world of cricket.
            strike rate slumped to 112.34. More   The long-standing comparisons   dropped Babar from the XI. That

                                                                   www.TheIndianEYE.com

| 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 |