Following Virat Kohli’s footsteps the way forward for Babar Azam? Former Pakistan captain hints so

Babar Azam has not scored a single century in international cricket since smashing 151 runs against Nepal during the Asia Cup last year in August. Since then, he lost his captaincy and regained it as well after one series but neither results changed nor his form returned to best.

Image Source : GETTYBabar Azam and Virat Kohli

Babar Azam’s form and captaincy have been the talking point in Pakistan cricket at the moment. His last century across any format came on August 30 last year when he scored 151 runs against Nepal. Babar’s last century against a top team came in April 2023 in T20Is (vs New Zealand) and his last Test ton came back in December 2022, also against New Zealand.

Captaincy has somehow affected his batting and former Pakistan skipper Younis Khan seems to have indirectly hinted that Babar should step down as captain to improve his performance with the bat. He also advised arguably Pakistan’s best batter to prioritise fitness and work ethic. Younis gave Kohli’s example who stepped down from captaincy to focus on his batting and in the process, regained his form as well.

Babar Azam’s record as captain across formats since January 1, 2023

Matches
Innings
Runs
Average
50s/100s

47
46
1769
41.13
13/3

“If Babar and other top players deliver on the field, then results will be clear to everyone. Humare players khelte kam, bolte jyada hai. (I have observed that our players tend to talk more than they perform). Look at Virat Kohli. He chose to step down from captaincy on his own terms, and now he’s breaking records worldwide. This shows that playing for the country should be the priority. If there’s any energy left, then play for yourself,” Younis said in an event.

This is a clear indication from the Pakistan great to Babar Azam that he should resign from captaincy and focus on his batting just like Kohli did. Is this the only way forward for him now? Babar’s numbers as captain are really good as he averages more than 60 in ODIs while leading the team and in T20Is, he averages 37.74 in 78 innings. But the same average has dropped to 46 in ODIs since January 2023 and even though his numbers in T20Is remain unperturbed during this period, Babar’s runs haven’t been converted to conducive results with his strike rate coming under the scanner.