Babar scored 15 off 18 balls before throwing his wicket away against the Netherlands.
However, the right-hander has once again come under severe scrutiny for his strike rate. During Pakistan’s campaign opener against the Netherlands in Colombo on Saturday (February 7), Babar managed to score only 15 off 18 balls while batting at No. 4.
The Men in Green may have escaped a humiliation thanks to Faheem Ashraf’s heroics, but Babar’s turtle-paced approach drew him a lot of flak.
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali too was critical of Babar’s listless performance against the Dutch side, saying the batter could be dropped for the next match versus USA. He also claimed that current coach Mike Hesson wasn't pleased with the way Babar threw his wicket away when the team needed him to bat till the end and get the job done.
“I have a feeling that Babar will not play in Pakistan’s next game. The anger I saw on coach Mike Hesson’s face… I don’t think that he will play Babar at no 4 again in the next game,” said Basit on the ‘Game Plan’ show.
Basit went on to argue that Babar is not suited for T20Is, saying he is far from being a superstar in the shortest format. It is pertinent to mention here that the former Pakistan captain failed to make a mark in his debut Big Bash League (BBL) season before the T20 World Cup.
Playing for the Sydney Sixers, Babar managed to score 202 runs at an average of 22.44 and a strike rate of 103.06 in 11 matches. He also hogged headlines for being denied a single by Australia star Steve Smith, who wanted to retain strike for power surge as the Pakistan batter looked miffed with his teammate's move in the match against Sydney Thunder.
"If you call Babar Azam a superstar in ODIs or Tests, I might still agree. But in T20Is? Kahaan se superstar hai? (How is he a superstar?) A batter who drops down from his regular batting position and comes out to bat at no 4, and cannot even tell the management that he’s not a no 4 batter! Doesn’t Babar know this?” Basit remarked.
“Even a club cricketer will tell you that in T20S, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, they are all better players in the format than Babar! Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub are also better T20 players than Babar. Even Salman Ali Agha has shown that he’s a better player at No. 3 than Babar. After what Steve Smith did with Babar Azam in the Big Bash League, people still haven't become wise! He denied a single just to prevent Babar from getting on strike. His game is not suited to T20s,” he added.
Pakistan opened their campaign with a narrow three-wicket win over the Netherlands. The 2009 champions will next face the USA in Colombo on Tuesday (February 10).