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Updated May 8th, 2021 at 16:52 IST

Babar Azam fails to replicate T20 magic in Tests, trumped by Virat Kohli on runs & ranking

While Babar Azam continues to be on the path of beating some of Team India captain Kohli's records, he has been unable to catch up with Virat Kohli in Tests

Reported by: Jitesh Vachhatani
Babar Azam
Image Credits: AP | Image:self
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Tailing the toes of Virat Kohli, Pakistan's batting sensation and now-skipper Babar Azam managed to surpass the Team India skipper recently in the shortest format of the game, at least as far as rankings are concerned. 26-year-old Babar Azam, who made his T20 debut for Pakistan in 2016, dethroned 'King' Kohli from the top of the ICC ODI rankings and also overtook the Indian skipper in the T20 rankings table. Touted as Pakistan's 'next big thing' and in line to join the ranks of greats including - Javed Mianded, Saeed Anwar, Inzmam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf - there remains one aspect of the game where the Pakistani skipper is yet to prove his mettle. 

While Azam continues to be on the path of dethroning the Team India captain off more of his records, the Pakistan batter has been unable to catch up with Virat Kohli in Tests. Considered to be the most difficult and grueling format of the game, Babar Azam is yet to pass the 'test of Tests' as he hopes to etch his name in history books. Having made his Test debut in 2016, Babar Azam has played 32 games in which he has scored 2167 runs and holds an average of 43.3. On the ICC Test Rankings, the Pakistani skipper holds the 9th position on the table topped by Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson. 

Comparatively, Virat Kohli sits on the fifth position on the ICC Test Rankings with 814 points to his name despite missing more than half of the Australia tour. Kohli, who made his Test debut in 2011 - five years before Azam - has 7490 runs to his name and holds an average of 52.4. 

Clearly, the Pakistani skipper has failed to replicate his T20 magic in the longest format of the game. Looking at his recent performances, in the past 6 innings that he has played, Azam has managed to score 124 runs in all. His figures in the last six innings look like - 7, 30, 77, 8, 0 and 2. In the ongoing Test series against Zimbabwe as well, the Pakistani skipper has failed to lead from the front. While Pakistan has been dominating the series, Azam has been in the shadow of Azhar Ali and Fawad Alam's heroic performances. Following up on his golden duck in the first Test against Zimbabwe in Harare, Azam made just two runs from eight balls before getting out against Blessing Muzarabani. 

Shoaib Akhtar has his say

Meanwhile, one of Pakistan's greatest, Shoaib Akhtar has also had his take on Babar Azam's failure in Tests. Terming the skipper's dismal show as the 'worrying point,' Akhtar made an intricate observation as he attempted to reason the Pakistan skipper's poor performance. 

"Against this (Zimbabwe) team, he had to wait for his turn because first opener and then Azhar Ali played long innings. Babar has to wear his pads and be ready during that time, which is the best and worst part of Test cricket. You have to sit and watch with concentration. and you can’t talk much as well. So, basically, you are in quarantine within a quarantine,” Akhtar said on PTV Sports.

“Babar should have scored at least 300-400 runs during this series, Sometimes it happens that you can’t score runs, but I’m sure Babar is trying his best. We expect a lot from him, so we should try to stay positive,” he added. 

Babar Azam smashes Virat Kohli's T20 record 

Just days after snatching King Kohli's ICC throne, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam claimed another record held by his Indian counterpart in the third T20 against Zimbabwe. Azam became the fastest batsman to breach the 2000-run mark in T20 history shattering the record held by India captain Virat Kohli. The Pakistan skipper achieved the milestone in 52 innings whereas Kohli had scored his first 2000 runs in T20s within 56 innings. 

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Published May 8th, 2021 at 16:52 IST

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