Should Babar Azam be blamed alone for Pak's miserable decline or Rizwan and co are equally guilty

Babar Azam vs South Africa - (Source: AFP)

On Sunday, October 12, Pakistan and South Africa squared off for the first Test at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The ongoing Test marked the return of Babar Azam after a long time.

The return didn't go as per plans as Babar Azam returned to the pavilion after scoring 23 (48), which featured four fours. Notably, Babar is going through a lean patch in his career as his last international hundred was 151 against Nepal on August 30, 2023, in the 2023 Asia Cup. 

Further, Babar's decline has also coincided with Pakistan's lean phase in Test cricket. The tough phase started in December 2023, when Pakistan toured Australia. Let's look at Pakistan's lean phase and how Babar Azam has performed in that time.

Pakistan's Poor Test Phase and Babar Azam's numbers during that phase

In the past 12 Tests, Pakistan have only won three matches, drawn one and went onto lose nine matches. Now, lets shed light on how has Babar Azam performed for Pakistan in Tests from December 2023 to present.

Babar Azam's stats

Babar has been extremely underwhelming for Pakistan in this lean phase as the former captain has only scored 486 runs in 11 innings Further, an average of 21.79 has definitely hurt Pakistan in the last two years.

However, it brings us back to the question, whether Babar Azam is solely responsible for the decline or Mohammad Rizwan or rest of the team too is to be blamed. Let's look at how the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, and Shan Masood and compare their stats with Babar Azam.

Key takeaways

• Compared to Babar Azam, every other player has been a massive hit for Pakistan during their lean phase. Shan, Saud, Rizwan, and Agha Salman have all done well, well enough to not be questioned of their place in the Test side. However, they all have failed to click at the same time, which is why Pakistan suffered heavy defeats during that phase.
• Rizwan has been the best batter for Pakistan in the last two years as he averages 44.65, which is nearly double Babar's average in this phase. 
• Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Salman Agha have also done well, but there is still a room for improvement. A mid-thirty average isn't the best in Tests, but not bad enough to be kicked out of the team.

Conclusion

While Babar does contribute to Pakistan's downfall, but questions can't be raised on Rizwan and rest of the squad. As mentioned earlier, there is room for improvement, but on individual level, all of these middle-order batters have done their part.

However, collectively as a team, Pakistan have failed to perform and stand against big sides such as Australia or South Africa. Thus, Babar needs to certainly up his game, if he wants to continue having a place in the Test team.

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