As a paragon of Pakistan cricket, Babar Azam should currently be the man directly compared to England’s Joe Root. But he is on the sidelines and his future is under a cloud.
Azam has been fighting to prove that he is the best batsman in the Pakistan team, but his poor form means he lost his place in the team and the squad for the remaining two Tests against England.
Scores of 30 and five in the first loss in the Test proved to be the final straw after Azam’s current poor run of form and Livecricket.io See if he can come back from this.
A career average of 43.92 is quite modest for the quality of player Azam is, but this has been greatly affected by his performances in recent years.
In 2023, Azam batted in nine innings and scored only 204 runs at 22.67. However, the worst was yet to come: in 2024, Azam fell to its lowest average since 2017.
Azam has scored just 148 runs in eight innings at 18.50 this year. He is yet to achieve a notable score, with a top score of just 31, preventing him from coming close to a half-century, let alone a century.
That Azam loses his place for the second Test against England is not surprising considering his form. However, seeing the number one ODI batsman struggle like this in Test matches means that most will be wondering what happens next for Azam.
At only 30 years old, Azam has plenty of time left on his side. Modern cricketers still perform well when they are in their 30s. In fact, Root has only gotten better in recent years and is now 33 years old. However, the statistical difference between Root and Azam is stark.
Azam has scored 3997 runs in 100 innings at 43.92. Meanwhile, Root has 12,664 runs in 268 innings at 51.48. Azam has nine centuries, with Root scoring 35. While Root has three years on Azam, the difference in run-scoring between the two is huge and is only increasing.
Is there any light at the end of the tunnel for Azam when you look at Root’s form?
Root himself went through a rough patch in 2020 as he failed to score a single century in 13 innings that year. Root fought hard to rekindle his form before enjoying his most prolific year to date, scoring 1708 runs in 29 innings at 61.00 in 2021.
Despite this, Root still averaged over 40 during his lean career. This is where the two differ: Azam fails to score centuries or really contribute to his team. Batting for four, runs are vital and they have now eluded Azam for too long.
Being left out of a series isn’t the end of everything for a player, but it hardly instills confidence. Of course, having time out of the middle will probably help Azam rest and refocus after having to carry a lot of expectations when it comes to Pakistan cricket.
The biggest worry for Azam will be that, for many players, the only way to revive their form is to keep playing. Losing the center of your bat is never easy, but finding it in the nets is very different from doing it in the middle in a Test match.
When the game is going against you, things can seem endless. Unplayable balls seem to constantly find an edge or hit the front pad. Pitches that a player would throw back to flay to the boundary suddenly go past the bat or rise into the air, building pressure on the batsman.
Perhaps the focus will be on using Azam in limited overs cricket for now. As the world’s number one ODI batsman, he will be confident in the 50 over format to score runs. Perhaps the difference in style and no need to focus on batting for an entire day will provide a welcome break for Azam.
It is worrying that things will not get easier for Azam and Pakistan in the coming months. Two more tests against england will be followed by a tour of australia in which they play three ODIs and three T20s. Then they face each other Zimbabwe on a similar tour before facing South Africa.
Pakistan’s upcoming test series comes against South Africa in unforgiving conditions against a team that is rapidly improving with a brutal bowling attack and a run-scoring batting line-up.
If Pakistan find a way to beat England in either of the last two Tests with their higher scoring runs, then it is difficult for Azam to return to the team anytime soon. Test cricket is an unforgiving place, and perhaps the time away from the limelight will help Azam more than force him to rekindle his form in a team lacking confidence.
Still only 30, Azam will likely return in 2025, but that air of near-invincibility with the bat is gone.