Babar Azam's Last 10 Innings: Should Pakistan Drop Star Batter From T20Is?

Babar Azam failed with the bat in 1st T20I vs SA [Source: AP]

Pakistan's experienced batter Babar Azam had a forgettable outing last night, as South Africa's young seamer Kwena Maphaka dismissed him for a four-ball duck in the first T20I between the two teams in Durban. Opening the batting for Pakistan, Babar couldn't get off the mark, with the left-arm pacer getting his prized scalp in the third over. 

This was Babar's seventh duck in T20 Internationals, as he joined Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli on the list of batters with the most zeroes in the shortest format. As the Pakistani legend sustains his lean patch, we take a look at his recent T20I performances by considering his last ten innings. 

Babar Azam's Last 10 T20I Innings

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Babar Azam Career

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Thus, Babar Azam has scored 237 runs at an ordinary average of 26.34 and a modest strike rate of 115.60 in his last ten T20I innings. Considering he has a career average and strike rate of 39.92 and 129.06, respectively, these numbers are way too poor per his standards. 

This data indicates that he has got starts in six innings, eventually failing to convert them into significant scores. But more importantly, he hasn't been able to perform against quality sides, recording an abysmal average of 18.28 versus South Africa, Australia, India and England in his last ten T20I innings. 

Should Pakistan Drop Babar Azam From T20Is?

Given that Pakistan have some really good top-order batters, particularly Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub,  Sahibzada Farhan and Omair Yousuf, it won't be surprising if they drop Babar Azam from T20Is. However, considering how the batter has performed in the past, the Men in Green will likely give him the entire South Africa tour to prove himself before taking a final call on his T20I future. 

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