Kohli And Babar Azam; What Baber should learn from Virat.

Babar Azam is enjoying his journey toward great batsmanship since the test series against New zealand in UAE-2018. His form, shape and technique is getting better with every game. His due greatness is evidant if he continues to play in his current fashion. Test cricket, still, is supposed to be his weaker link and his everge-52 in tests in 2018-19- shows how much effort he has put in to enhance his credibility as an established test bastman. His century- 104 runz- against Australia in Gabba  showed his worth and flair as a batsman and quick-self learner. In post match interview Babar conceded his undue shot selection and also discussed how that shot prompted him to play cautiously on merit which is haul mark of a great batsman.

    However Baber isn't playing in an ordinary batsmen-dry era, his contemprories are the fab-fours -kholi, Smith, Williamson and Root- of whom everyone is the master of his own game and owner of his own ground.  

Kholi is the best among these bests, he has scored more runs since 2018, has more hundreds than anyone else. Smith has made a dream comeback , williamson and Root played a dream worldCup this year. For babar to break through these modren greats isn't going to be an easy job he must enhance and stretch his game further up, fortunately and unfortunatly Baber has got someone in the name of Kholi whose goals and achievements bar is going up and further up.  To match or surpass Kholi, Babar must imagin new routes and should sail his batsmanship in new dynamics of batting ablities and achievements. In order to do so he should learn something from the great Virat kholi. Despite  techinque, body language , mental training and match reading -though Babar has bettered most of these qulaities- there is something more that Baber will have to acquire from Virat : staying long on the wicket, playing more deliveries,  getting most of the strike himself. 

 If we compare Babar and Kohli based on their stay on wicket since 2018 we find that Virat has  batted 87 times in all three forms of the game, has scored 4918 runs with strike rate of 77.97 facing 6307 deliveries. Babar, on the other hand, has played 76 inngx scoring 3403 runs with strike rate of 84.82 by facing 4012 deliveries.  Innings wise Kholi has played only 11 innings more than Baber and  has faced 2000 more delieveries than Babar. This suggests how Virat gets more runs by facing more deliveries. Baber,as we know, hasn't yet developed this habbit.  In first two T20s and first Test against Australia we saw how Babar kept less of the strike and allowed other batsmen to face the music. Most of his good shots in the first test went for 3s and thus went off strike immediately. Kohli often keeps strike with himself allowing him to face more deliveries, take more reponsiblity and take the game on his own.  We don't often see Baber exercising the same in his innings for Pakistan, which allows the opposition to bulid pressure, take more wickets and make the situations tough for pakistan. 

Though Baber is young and has to learn a lot before he becomes the poster face of international cricket, but, facing more balls , spending more time at crease is something that he should  learn sooner than later. Facing more balls gives one the opportunity to entrench his mind in the game and thus develop plans to counter opponents'  narrative. Baber requires to obeserve Virat like he observes his own game. In observation of Virat lies the key to cricketing greatness for Babar and other young cricketers.

Shah Faisal 

shenshenta@gmail.com