(L-R) Babar Azam, Virat Kohli, Salman Butt (Source: AP)
Babar Azam has drawn flak for his consistent low returns for Pakistan. Once in the league of greats like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Joe Root, Babar's stocks have nosedived in the last few years. As Pakistan made a group-stage exit from the ICC Champions Trophy, dark clouds loom over Babar Azam's career. There are calls to drop Babar Azam from the team and PCB would definitely mull over the call due to mounting pressure.
Amidst the backlash, Babar Azam has found support from former Pakistan batter Salman Butt who feels that Babar won more matches for Pakistan than any other cricketer in the last 20 years. “His Test average with 9 centuries and 26 fifties is 44.5. One-day average is 56.72 with 19 centuries and 32 half-centuries. In T20Is he has an average of 41, strike-rate of 129. Someone tell me if these stats have been beaten by any single player in Pakistan in the last 20 years," Butt said while speaking on GNN HD News.
"The players who are trying to say they are match-winners, combine them and look at how many matches they have won. I think a comparison is warranted,” continued Butt.
Salman Butt further said Babar is no Virat Kohli, but he is the best Pakistan have. He added that Kohli also went through a lean patch but he kept on scoring 50s, adding that he had the likes of Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni to bail the team out. He highlighted that Babar was let down by the team as no one put up his hand when he was going through a lean run, resulting in the team's poor performances which magnified Babar's lean run.
“Talk sense. You don’t have a Kohli or a Williamson. Babar is no Kohli. But Babar is the best that we have,” continued Butt. “If he’s not scoring runs, he needs back-up now. When he’s scoring, even if you don’t like him you will have to sing his praises with the world.”
“This dip in form, even Kohli had it, but Kohli is such a high-class player that he kept scoring 50s in those matches,” argued Butt. “Who did he have with him? Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni. Big players, match-winners. Who does Babar have?”
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