Is Babar Azam the most overrated batsman since 2000?

[Dil Dil India]

This guy is such a fraud that it beggars belief that even commentators swoon over him because he plays a few pretty drives. KL Rahul and Mayank Pandey have similar/better stats and would have far surpassed this overrated FTB/weak attack basher. Last WC 2023 exposed him in supposedly his best format where he is discount KL Rahul and if not for an umpiring error vs Kuldeep, he would not even been able to statpad his undeserved 50 then.

 

Quick points. In tests:

 

Just by excluding Rawalpindi highway and National stadium Karachi (note I am not even excluding all of Pakistan or minnows), Babar's stats are:

 

2605 runs @ 38.3 with 3 100s!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about mediocrity.

 

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/348144.html?class=1;filter=advanced;ground=10;ground=1184;ground=131;ground=132;ground=1597;ground=174;ground=1931;ground=1965;ground=199;ground=200;ground=2025;ground=209;ground=2439;ground=260;ground=3404;ground=504;ground=508;ground=545;ground=61;ground=629;ground=679;ground=75;ground=847;ground=902;ground=93;ground=974;orderby=default;template=results;type=batting

 

 

I am most interested in exposing this T20 fraud though as this is where the lumber 1 nonsense comes up ad nauseam. This fraud fluked 1 knock vs India on a terribly dewy pitch in Dubai where team batting 2nd won all games and suddenly everyone thought he was Bradman.

 

His overall T20 stats are the most misleading ever because no team plays full strength sides in regular T20s like Pak - even Ireland was experimenting in the series decider a couple of weeks back vs Pak. His fangirls point to some runs he scored vs Magala, Blizzard Williams or whoever. This is the T20 GOAT Babar in the T20 world cups (where teams are full strength) against the top sides (including West Indies and Sri Lanka)

 

220 runs @ 31.42. Strike Rate 113.98

 

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/348144.html?class=3;filter=advanced;opposition=1;opposition=2;opposition=3;opposition=4;opposition=5;opposition=6;opposition=8;orderby=default;template=results;trophy=89;type=batting

 

 

I am so tired of hearing how great this guy is and he did not even have the guts to face a super over vs USA. Number one?!!!

 

Thoughts everyone and heddie?

[cricketfan28]

No, he cannot play ball one hitting game, he should be augmented with hitters so he can anchor around, he has got good technique. 

[Haarkarjeetgaye]

pata nahi itna kyun chadate hai isko. he looks like getting out anytime

[Dil Dil India]

9 minutes ago, cricketfan28 said:

No, he cannot play ball one hitting game, he should be augmented with hitters so he can anchor around, he has got good technique. 

 

6 minutes ago, Haarkarjeetgaye said:

pata nahi itna kyun chadate hai isko. he looks like getting out anytime

This technique thing is so overstated as well => guy cannot play extreme quicks well and is clueless against half decent spinners especially leg spinners; he is probably the best in the world at bashing trundlers on flat decks.

[vvvslaxman]

He is a  social media build up guy.  Would not walk into any decent international side in any format.

[Dil Dil India]

16 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

He is a  social media build up guy.  Would not walk into any decent international side in any format.

It's a joke - it's like a lie being repeated over and over again and it's being accepted as the truth. Honestly, I am no fan of KL Rahul who I think is gutless and selfish much like Babar and I still think he is a comfortably better batsman than Babar across formats. He would not make any top T20 sides; maybe a Test number 5 or 6 for a few sides. I would put him on par (maybe) with current Pujara/Rahane.  In ODIs against top sides in WCs, he would not be in my top 10.

[Ultimate_Game]

10 minutes ago, Dil Dil India said:

It's a joke - it's like a lie being repeated over and over again and it's being accepted as the truth. Honestly, I am no fan of KL Rahul who I think is gutless and selfish much like Babar and I still think he is a comfortably better batsman than Babar across formats. He would not make any top T20 sides; maybe a Test number 5 or 6 for a few sides. I would put him on par (maybe) with current Pujara/Rahane.  In ODIs against top sides in WCs, he would not be in my top 10.

 

KL is a mental midget. He has all the talent in the world but his meek, "safety first" attitude makes him a non-starter. And a few years ago he was actually a decent T20 bat but mentally he regressed and don't think we need to go back to him. I would rather fail with likes of Jaiswal, Abhishek, Parag etc.

[Tillu]

He has a strong PR. They are everywhere. Just like Rohit's PR constantly compares him to Kohli to keep him in the limelight, Gobars PR has mastered the art of fooling gullible Padosis into believing that he is no less than Kohli and other players. The Padosi PR never uses strike rates and averages for comparison, they always use aggregate runs and use a side by side comparison to make him look better than what he is.

[Tillu]

Many Padosis believe Gobar and Legwan are T20 goats. Current PP has devolved into a rabid place for different PR teams representing different players who constantly throw shade against the opposition players. Mamoon starting from this PSL I believe is acting as a PR for Zimbabar. He is doing all his best to deflect all the criticism coming towards Zimbabar in this world cup on PP.

[Ultimate_Game]

1 minute ago, Tillu said:

He has a strong PR. They are everywhere. Just like Rohit's PR constantly compares him to Kohli to keep him in the limelight, Gobars PR has mastered the art of fooling gullible Padosis into believing that he is no less than Kohli and other players. The Padosi PR never uses strike rates and averages for comparison, they always use aggregate runs and use a side by side comparison to make him look better than what he is.

 

The thing is Kohli has something to show. In ODIs in mid 2010s he was a gun chaser (though not knockouts), and couple of his WT20 innings against Aus (2016) and Pak (2022) are some of the top innings played in the format. Kohli's challenge has been not replicating these performances in knockouts. But he has at least shown his skill & talent level against decent opponents at some level. Same with Rohit. Though he's a bi-lateral and group stage bully, at least he had the skill & talent to bully decent opponents.

 

But in case of Babar, there's no basis for him to be considered a top player. He doesn't have even a single innings against decent opponents which come anywhere close to even one of the top innings played by Kohli & Rohit. The mark against Kohli & Rohit is that they don't show up at the crunch, but in case of Babar he has never shown up anywhere. Take out minnows and the B&C grade teams he plays against, he has absolutely nothing to show. And in Tests he doesn't even have a 100 in SENA. How such a mediocre player can ever be considered a top tier batsman is beyond me 

[Tillu]

Hardcore cricket fans know he's nowhere near Kohli and Rohit. Casual fans see these stats by their PR and believe them blindly.

[putrevus]

It would be interesting to compare his world t20 stats to Rohit.

 

Rohit has failed massively in t20 world cups.Hope he changes this time around.

[Ultimate_Game]

4 minutes ago, putrevus said:

It would be interesting to compare his world t20 stats to Rohit.

 

Rohit has failed massively in t20 world cups.Hope he changes this time around.

 

Not just in WT20. Rohit has failed in T20Is in general, and over the last few years he has been a walking wicket. The fact he was chosen as captain is mind-blowing as he doesn't even deserve a spot in the WT20 squad.

[Tillu]

11 minutes ago, putrevus said:

It would be interesting to compare his world t20 stats to Rohit.

 

Rohit has failed massively in t20 world cups.Hope he changes this time around.

 

Even with all the statistical advantage, I will anyday choose Rohit over Zimbabar. Rohit under achieved in T20s. Even the Padosis on PP know Rohit is a better batsman than him.

[Ultimate_Game]

12 minutes ago, Tillu said:

Hardcore cricket fans know he's nowhere near Kohli and Rohit. Casual fans see these stats by their PR and believe them blindly.

 

Stats in cricket hide more than what they reveal. If you simply look at stats, Babar would look like a better batsman than Buttler, and Rizwan would be a better opener than Head. But I doubt anyone, other than deluded Pak fans, would pick either Babar or Rizwan over Buttler or Head. The problem is we don't have smart stats where quality of opponent, match situation, pitch quality, and Impact are measured.

 

Just to give you 2 examples. Warner's 37(16) against Eng would be better than 70(50) type of innings as Warner finished off Wood and England in the PP itself. Our traditional cricket stats based on average doesn't take that into account. Another example would be Pant's 42(30) innings against Pak recently. That innings would be worth more than a 100 in some cases given the quality of the pitch where 119 is the highest score yet and scoring run a ball itself is a challenge. But again, our cricket stats don't factor that in. Cricket stats have remains static since ages and are more suited to Tests, and at max ODIs. But they're totally out of place for T20s and I would say even the modern ODI game. I hope BCCI understands it - I highly doubt though - and use smart analytics to select teams. So instead of likes of KL Rahul we start getting likes of Rinku in the team.

[putrevus]

3 minutes ago, Tillu said:

 

Even with all the statistical advantage, I will anyday choose Rohit over Zimbabar. Rohit under achieved in T20s. Even the Padosis on PP know Rohit is a better batsman than him.

Rohit is a superior batsman in all aspects. I don't think many batsmen in history have his power game .He is an idiot who has under utilized his talent.

 

 

[Dil Dil India]

56 minutes ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

The thing is Kohli has something to show. In ODIs in mid 2010s he was a gun chaser (though not knockouts), and couple of his WT20 innings against Aus (2016) and Pak (2022) are some of the top innings played in the format. Kohli's challenge has been not replicating these performances in knockouts. But he has at least shown his skill & talent level against decent opponents at some level. Same with Rohit. Though he's a bi-lateral and group stage bully, at least he had the skill & talent to bully decent opponents.

 

But in case of Babar, there's no basis for him to be considered a top player. He doesn't have even a single innings against decent opponents which come anywhere close to even one of the top innings played by Kohli & Rohit. The mark against Kohli & Rohit is that they don't show up at the crunch, but in case of Babar he has never shown up anywhere. Take out minnows and the B&C grade teams he plays against, he has absolutely nothing to show. And in Tests he doesn't even have a 100 in SENA. How such a mediocre player can ever be considered a top tier batsman is beyond me 

This was never true in T20 => He played amazing innings in knockouts of World T20 2014 and World T20 2016 and was MOTS in both IIRC. It was only really in ODIs that this was kinda true but even there he had a CT 2013 Final performance; only place you could really pin him was WC 2015 SF when India were chasing a big score and WC 2019 SF vs NZ where NZ were extremely lucky with conditions. With his WC 2023 SF and F knocks, he even put those ghosts to rest.

[Dil Dil India]

1 hour ago, Tillu said:

Many Padosis believe Gobar and Legwan are T20 goats. Current PP has devolved into a rabid place for different PR teams representing different players who constantly throw shade against the opposition players. Mamoon starting from this PSL I believe is acting as a PR for Zimbabar. He is doing all his best to deflect all the criticism coming towards Zimbabar in this world cup on PP.

Mamoon as I have mentioned years ago is "one of us" He is purely there to troll neighbours - him, zaid65, umerz, mominasgol etc were/are purely there to troll and for "surgical strikes". Rana has Indian origins too and is a good guy for us. Will not reveal too much more as I know they read ICF.

[Dil Dil India]

1 hour ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

KL is a mental midget. He has all the talent in the world but his meek, "safety first" attitude makes him a non-starter. And a few years ago he was actually a decent T20 bat but mentally he regressed and don't think we need to go back to him. I would rather fail with likes of Jaiswal, Abhishek, Parag etc.

Yeah I agree, gutless and selfish. Jaiswal over KL any day!

[putrevus]

They were many idiots on ICF who were saying KL Rahul was kept out of the team by Kohli as he was jealous of his talent.

 

Babar is an upgrade over this gutless idiot.Babar himself has no guts but he still is an upgrade.