Babar Azam’s persistent lack of big scores continued during the ODI series against West Indies, which ended with a catastrophic 202-run defeat in Trinidad on Tuesday. Surrounded by three ducks in the top-order, Babar mustered only nine runs as Pakistan were eventually shot down for a paltry 92 in a 295-run chase.
Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad has highlighted the consistent comparisons with India legend Virat Kohli as a primary reason behind Babar’s extended century-drought.
“When everything was going well, you were running campaigns comparing players. Now that the performances are not coming, you are saying ‘don’t compare two players’. Why not? Virat Kohli’s comparison cannot be made with anyone in the world. He is a legend of this generation, a role model. You cannot compare him even with MS Dhoni. Dhoni may have been a great captain, but as a batter, cricketer, and athlete, Kohli stands alone. No one should be compared with anyone because it’s unfair and it adds extra pressure, which we are now seeing on Babar Azam,” Shehzad was quoted as saying by GeoSuper.
Despite surpassing Kohli’s T20I run tally last year as he moved up to 4223 runs, only behind former India captain Rohit Sharma, Babar was axed from the Pakistan squad in the shortest format.
72 innings without a century
Since his century against Nepal in the Asia Cup 2023, Babar has gone 72 innings across all formats without reaching a hundred. During this period, he’s scored 2,139 runs at an average of 31.45, with 18 half-centuries.
His struggle for a century is particularly notable in Test cricket where he has gone three years without a three-figure score. Since his last Test hundred against New Zealand in December 2022, he has averaged just 23.60, scoring 590 runs in 25 innings.
With scores of 47, 0 and 9 in the West Indies ODI series, the former Pakistan captain also slipped down from the top 2 of the ICC ODI batting rankings. India skipper Rohit displaced Babar to take second place in the latest rankings, with Shubman Gill leading the charts in the format.
