Babar Azam's ‘shameful’ wicket a symptom of Pakistan's defeat, comparisons to Virat Kohli shut down: ‘Different league’

Babar Azam continues to have a rough tournament and struggle in the T20 format, as the years he was in the same conversationa s Kohli look very far away.

Pakistan sunk to a 61-run loss in the rivalry game against India at the R Premadasa Stadium, the heaviest in a recent line of defeats which has exposed the gulf between the two teams. Although Pakistan remain alive in the T20 World Cup, it’s a team that will be jaded by the heaviness of the defeat, and how non-competitive they were through it.

Babar Azam is dismissed trying to play a big shot against Axar Patel. (PTI)

While questions will be asked of all their players and coaching staff, some of the main figures in the dressing room are bound to have more question marks attached to their status than others. Babar Azam in particular continues to have a torrid time, scoring 5(7) before seeing his stumps in a mess as a hoick against Axar Patel didn’t connect.

In a very poor patch of form and with no score higher than 14 in his last five T20Is against India, Babar has received condemnation from many quarters, including Indian fans who wish to see him removed from the same conversation as greats like Virat Kohli.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan made this very point.

“Please, stop comparing Babar Azam with Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli is in a different league. Look at his innings against Pakistan in the 2022 World Cup — has Babar ever played such a knock under pressure?” asked Pathan.

Babar's technical deficiencies pointed out

He granted that Babar’s 68* in the 10-wicket win in Dubai in 2021 was a good innings, but also pointed out that when things get tough, Babar rarely stands up for Pakistan.

“Apart from 2021, when dew played a big role, how many times has Babar absorbed pressure and finished games like that? With three wickets down, he should have batted till the 15th over, focused on singles and doubles, and played a long innings,” said Pathan.

Babar walked in at 6/2 in the first over; his dismissal would see Pakistan slide to 34/4 inside the fifth over. While Babar’s tempo and strike-rate has been fiercely criticised, it was a poor shot option against Axar Patel, and poor execution that led to his wicket.

“Even a strike rate of 120 would have been acceptable given the scoreboard pressure. Instead, he went for a big shot and got out. He doesn’t consistently have the ability to clear boundaries at will, nor to rotate strike freely in the middle overs against quality spin when the ball grips,” pointed out Pathan as manner of criticism.

It was the kind of cricket that spelled Pakistan’s doom as they were bowled out for 114, with India’s bowlers not having to bowl particularly well to force errors and capitalise on mistakes made by their neighbours.

"Because of that approach, Pakistan couldn’t even bat the full 20 overs. This was a shameful defeat — no doubt about it," Pathan summed up.

Pakistan will be chafing at the heaviness of defeat, and will be hoping they can have another crack at India later in the tournament – but given the current state of this rivalry, it’s not something India would mind too much at all.