“I was quite surprised when Shan (Masood) got out, and how excited the crowd was that he was out, because that meant Babar was coming to the wicket. We had a good chuckle at that,” enthused an amused South African Simon Harmer on Babar’s affinity with the Pakistan fans during the Lahore Test in October.
This is the kind of affection, love, and admiration Babar has been blessed with. He has been suffering from a run drought which, for the first time in his career, endangered his place in the team. Babar was dropped from the Test team last year before regaining his place. His last Test century came against New Zealand on December 26, 2022.
His last ODI hundred was against Nepal in August 2023. Babar also lost his place in the T20I team after new head coach Mike Hesson publicly explained that his strike rate and vulnerability against spin were the causes.
While many believe, and it’s an accepted old age adage, that form is temporary, class is permanent. Babar’s class was never in question, but his approach and mindset were. It seemed Babar was under some mental stress, something that was bothering him. It is a fact that losing captaincy bothered him.
He was getting out on not good balls, but on poor mistakes. Bowlers were not getting him out, but poor shots were.
Babar’s poor form was not only hurting the Pakistan team but also his legion of fans. They come in numbers to watch him and always expect him to score the elusive century.
The crowds during the South Africa ODIs at Faisalabad were doubly enamored to see the return of cricket in the city after a hiatus of 17 years, but their joy was more in watching their idol, Babar Azam. The crowds were so excited and came in numbers during the three matches that it seemed the matches were held in “Babar-Abad.”
The elusive three-figure finally came in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, another city where Babar is hugely loved and sought-after. The hundred came after 83 consecutive innings without a hundred in international cricket. The whole nation rejoiced over Babar’s return to form. He is loved like no one in the current team.
“It was more to do with mind than anything else,” opined former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja, who gave full support to Babar the captain in his days as Pakistan Cricket Board chairman. “It depended on how he was focusing and how he was taking the challenge. It was long overdue, and it finally came.”
Babar now has one more challenge. After a year being out of the Twenty20 internationals, he was given a chance against South Africa and then in the tri-series. He is also recruited in the Bigbash League, which is a good opportunity for him to get more rhythm ahead of the World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, come February.
Babar is a classic batter. The Pakistan team will need a firing and prolific Babar in the World Cup. He needs to realise his importance, not only for the team but also for his fans.
