T20 World Cup 2022: Can Pakistan's prince be the undisputed king?

Babar Azam (Source: AP Newsroom)

Pakistan is all set to launch their ICC T20 World Cup campaign with their match against India on 23rd October. The team did reach the semifinals in the last edition of the tournament, but this time around they will look to do at least one better be in the summit clash of the tournament.

Babar Azam, well at present the 'King' in the making, has a chance to end up as a World Cup winning captain while keeping a valuable contribution in that. That could make him a tougher competitor for the title of 'King' in contemporary cricket of Virat Kohli. 

But how much of a contribution will his leadership skills and batting be in this tournament for Pakistan? Let' s try to answer the question. 

Babar Azam, the leader

Babar Azam's captaincy record in T20Is (Source: OneCricket)

Babar Azam has proved himself as an able leader in the shortest format of the game in the international format. He has a win percentage of 61.02, which is phenomenal.

Besides, the Pakistan team that has looked like divided internally appears much more integrated under his leadership. In the past Pakistan had a number of great individually skilled players, but never they did they appear a united team like this.  His leadership skills will be an asset for Pakistan in the tournament and will go a long way in Pakistan the distance they do go in the event. 

Babar Azam, the batter

Babar Azam has established himself as a solid and consistent batter for his team at the top order for quite some time now. He averages over 40 in the format and it is his partnership with Mohammad Rizwan that lays the foundation for their big hitters to take the attack to the opposition later in the innings. 

Babar Azam's T20I performance (Source: OneCricket)

This year, though, Babar's form has been on and off in the T20I format. While in the Asia Cup he struggled to find his form, he looked in a better touch in the home series against England. Given the facts in hand, Babar Azam, the batter will be very important to Pakistan's run in the tournament. 

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2022, Team Analysis - Pakistan