Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has failed to justify the tag of No. 1 ODI batter in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.

Despite playing in batting-friendly conditions, the right-hander has registered scores of 5, 10, 50, 18, 74, 50, 9 and 66* in eight innings. In particular, his strike rate of 82.69 has drawn him criticism from fans and experts alike.

Recently, former Pakistan cricketers Sikandar Bakht and Abdul Razzaq slammed Babar’s batting approach, asking him to take the leaf out of Rohit Sharma’s book and show intent.

“We kept talking about No. 1 batter in the world. I want to ask whether it helps in getting good contracts,” Sikandar said on Geo News.

“Aisa lag raha class mai No. 1 and matric ke imtihaan mai fail (It looks like he tops in the class but fails in the matric exam),” he added

On the other hand, Razzaq claimed that Babar Azam doesn’t have the class to take the game away from the opposition.

“No 1 batter is Fakhar Zaman. All New Zealand batters were praising him. Our captain doesn’t have that class. Look at Rohit, he is ready to score 10 runs in the first over and then 15 in the second. Our captain has different playing style, but he should see what Rohit is doing.

“World class players are the ones who take the game away from the opposition. In our time, it was Matthew Hayden, Sanath Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting,” he stated.

Razzaq also weighed in on India’s unbeaten streak in this World Cup, saying that it is the team unity that has made them a dominant force.

“They are playing for their nation. Look at Virat Kohli’s reaction when other batters hit the runs, he celebrates like he has scored one.

“Bowlers are attacking, batters are attacking. Two months ago, Pakistan bowlers were attacking and that’s why we were doing so well. We called them World No 1 attack. The same unit is not taking the wickets, now we are questioning our bowlers, it happens in cricket. I will give this credit to Rohit Sharma for his team unity and with the confidence they are playing,” he said.

Abdul Razzaq also praised the Indian team for playing smart cricket in home conditions.

“India is making the most of the home condition. The way they started against South Africa in the first ten overs, it gave them the edge. Then from 11-30, they were happy taking three-four runs per over. In the last 10 overs, they again upped the ante. They knew on this pitch 250 would be enough, but still played the aggressive brand of cricket.

“Pitch has been favouring India. In the other matches, you can see teams are scoring 350 and 400. It feels like India knows how the pitch is going to react. See their batting, they are making the most out if it. When they bowl, their bowlers go for the wickets. They don’t just look to restrict the run flow,” said Razzaq.