Babar Azam Birthday Special: Three Factors Which Led to Star Batsman’s Ouster from Pakistan Test Squad

Babar Azam has been one of the best batters across formats for Pakistan. After the likes of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yusuf, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq took retirement, Babar Azam took over the reigns of carrying Pakistan cricket on his shoulders and piled up success after success rising as not only the best batter from Pakistan but also one of the best in the world. At times, there has been also discussions among the fans that Babar Azam is sure to break in the fab four of Steve Smith, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli. But just ahead of that, Babar Azam suffered a slump in his form. Things went so bad that the PCB had to exclude him for the remainder of Pakistan's Test series against England to give him a break. 'Babar Azam Rested, Not Dropped' Pakistan Cricket Team Assistant Coach Azhar Mahmood Clears the Air Around Omission of 'No 1 Player' From Squad for Remaining PAK vs ENG Tests 2024 (Watch Video).

Babar has been going through a lean patch for about two years now. His drop in form in Test cricket started in late 2022 and it continued to grow in 2023 when he failed badly in the ICC Cricket World Cup in India. Since then, he has barely scored runs in any of the formats. Failures kept on coming in ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and in Test matches. The recent Test matches against Bangladesh and England saw him completely helpless and desperate to break out from his poor run of form. Fans eager to know what made him go from a serial run scorer to a person struggling to put bat on ball, can read more.

1. Captaincy:

Already several stars and former cricketers have cited this as a reason of poor form of Babar Azam. Since Babar Azam took over as the captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team, he had initial success. But when the team started to lose, the negativity inside the team and the added pressure of decision making and leadership made him perform poorly with the bat too. Despite taking a break from captaincy, Babar has not found the same mental space as before when he used to be free of anxiety and doubts. Captaincy pressure has been one of the big reasons for his recent struggles.

2. Technique:

In the recent past many batters have started with a flawed technique initially and found success but as their career progressed, the weaknesses got bigger and the batters struggled. Babar Azam is no different. He has several technical flaws including an early front foot press and a trigger movement across on the offside. This movement makes him cramped while handling good length deliveries and also makes him unsure of the position of both the off and leg stumps. That his why he has faced many recent dismissals in the mid-wicket, slips and got strangled down the leg too. His trigger movement has completely taken out his ability to adjust late and it has affected his batting big time.

3. Chaotic Ecosystem:

It has to be remembered that Babar Azam might be in a downward slope, but the entire Pakistan Cricket Team has been performing poorly across formats and competitions. This poor performance is also interrelated to the off-field activities of the Pakistan Cricket Board. In the recent past, PCB has seen three changes in their chairman and everyone has tried to set up their new ecosystem. New chairmen have appointed new coaches, and it has been tough for the players to find their rhythm and work on their game amid the chaos. This constant change and insecurity in the player's group has hampered Babar's mental space too. Fakhar Zaman Issued Show Cause Notice By PCB for His Viral Post on Pakistan Leaving Out Babar Azam for Remainder of PAK vs ENG Test Series 2024.

The cricket calendar in modern times remain packed with matches and whatever the reason is, Babar Azam got a well-deserved break now. He has to now use the break to work on his technique, correct his mental space and find some rhythm in the nets. Every great player has gone through a poor run of form and sometimes it has stayed for a long time. Despite that, they have made a comeback, and the second peak has stayed for a long time. Fans will hope that it will be no different for Babar Azam.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 15, 2024 06:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).