The crowd in both Lahore and Rawalpindi waited for Babar Azam with an excitement they didn’t bother to hide. Even if that meant booing the opposition for dropping their captain, who, to his misfortune, came a spot before Babar, or cheering at seeing their set batter’s back. As long as Babar was next, they were happy.
Babar came in on the first day of the opening South Africa Test, made a quick 22 off 21, then just one run in his next 26 balls before calling it a day. A similar scene transpired at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday when he seemed pretty comfortable clearing the boundaries before his stay was cut short once again.
You would expect those low returns to dent the love people feel for him, but that’s hardly the case. Nothing proves it better than the fact that Babar hasn’t been doing what Babar was loved to do in the first place, yet the love hasn’t wavered.
Dwindling form
His last Test century came in 2022 against New Zealand in Karachi. That year, he was a 28-year-old batter averaging 69.64 in Tests, with his peak years seemingly ahead. That peak never arrived (at least not yet). Over the next two years, his average fell to barely a third of that figure. Since then, he has passed fifty only twice, both times in Cape Town against South Africa earlier this year.
Also since that ton in Karachi, he has led Pakistan through a shambolic ODI World Cup and an even worse T20 one. Been fired as the captain, rehired, and fired again. Dropped multiple times from the side, all while his form kept sliding.
Obsession with the concept of Babar Azam
After all this, people still line up to see him bat. It might sound ridiculous, but the bond between Babar and the fans who silently hope his 32nd century doesn’t make them wait much longer lies in their love for the concept of Babar Azam. To them, he remains the picture of technical perfection. Sort of the ideal batter Pakistan has longed for in decades. No matter how many times his promising starts are reduced to smithereens, the fans aren’t likely to stop venerating that version of him in their minds. Not anytime soon.
Also read: From cover drives to captaincy crisis — the Babar Azam dilemma
The problem, though, is psychological. People like things in black and white. You can’t be great and struggle at the same time. The flawless batter Babar appeared to be over the past few years created an image that doesn’t allow for dips or rebuilds. But the real Babar, the one still searching for rhythm, gains no benefit from that perfection..
His space to improve what’s been lacking only keeps shrinking. If, and hopefully he doesn’t, he lends ear to even a whiff of this stuff, it’ll be harder for him to break through the rut when the focus turns to proving he still has it all.
His 42-run knock in the second innings of the first Test was Pakistan’s highest score and, in hindsight one could argue, the innings that helped seal their win over the visitors. He has now gone 75 innings without a century across formats. And while he’s had lean, century-less patches before, none have lasted this long.
